


Symmetry

by Alternate_Alien



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blind Character, Eventual Smut, F/M, Flashbacks, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Mutual Pining, Oral Sex, References to Depression, Shower Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:20:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 34,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21809440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alternate_Alien/pseuds/Alternate_Alien
Summary: .When the dust settles, there's only her left in the room, crouching low to the ground with her hands covering her head. And when she slowly lifts her face to look up to him, he lowers his blaster at his side and finds himself saying, "You're blind."..In which the Mandalorian tries to make amends for some of the mistakes he's made in the past.
Relationships: The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 67
Kudos: 477





	1. The Slave

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm happy you've decided to take a peek at my fic and I hope you enjoy reading what I've got so far! This idea is a collaborative effort between myself and a friend of mine because we can't stop dreaming up scenarios about this loveable bounty hunter. Anyway, feel free to leave kudos or comments if you liked the start!

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The instant he sees her, he knows who she is and the sight of her now, standing on this backwater planet with a chain around her throat makes a quick rush of panic pulse through his chest. He almost doesn’t believe his eyes and he blinks a few times, watching her through the tinted T of his helmet.

She looks different. Worse. Her hair is the same dark shade, a bit longer and unkempt as if it hadn’t been washed in a while. She’s thinner than the last time he spoke to her and for some reason, that shifted the panic inside him to anger.

The rusting chain attached to her neck is pulled taut and she tries--and fails-- to resist as the meaty hand at the other end wraps the links around and around it, dragging her closer. She stumbles forward suddenly and her thighs hit the table tucked into the darkened corner of the cantina, knocking a few glasses and spilling the ale. The man holding her chain reaches up and strokes her cheek continuing to her jaw, down to her chest, and _lower_.

Mando’s fists tighten at his side. He can only watch as she’s blatantly groped in front of the crowd of assorted drunks. He blinks again, just to make sure he isn’t seeing things that aren’t really there, but she doesn’t fade away like a mirage. She’s still there, still resisting against the chain around her throat and the hand that has started to slip between her legs.

He steps around a rather drunk Devaronian whose head is currently propped up on the bar by the tip of its black horns. A small quartet of musicians is switching songs behind the bar as Mando steps closer to where a Rodian bartender is wiping a dirty rag over a pint glass. He regards the bounty hunter with a glance, his back stiffens but doesn’t offer much else.

Not that Mando wants a drink. What he’s wanting is information.

“Who is that?” the bounty hunter asks with a nod of his helmet toward the corner where she’s now being forced into the lap of the rotund human man. He pulls her hair back and though Mando can’t see her face, he knows by the tension in her body that she’s grimacing in disgust.

The Rodian didn’t glance back to the table, probably doesn’t have to, before his enormous black eyes narrowed a bit. “Are you trying to cause trouble in my bar?”

“That depends on who they are.”

With a sigh, the bartender lowers the rag he’s using and leans closer to Mando. “The round one’s Moro. He practically runs this port so if you’re looking to stay alive, he’s not the one to mess with.”

“And the girl?”

At this, the Rodian turns back to look at the table and makes a strange sound in the back of his throat. A mix between a laugh and a sigh, Mando guesses.

“Some slave. Came in a while ago and didn’t get far before Moro snatched her up. He goes through them rather fast.”

By now, the anger in Mando’s chest is pulsing in time to his quickening heartbeat and he stares past the circular bar in the center of the room to where she’s still sitting in the man’s lap. The skirt, if the thin strips of fabric could even be called that, on her hips is threadbare and doesn’t offer much protection against the roaming hands snaking down her backside. She tries to shift away from him but is quickly, and roughly returned to her previous place astride his lap.

It’s frustrating to watch. What happened to the fiery, sharp-tongued girl he left behind nine months ago? His imagination runs wild with horrible things that turn his stomach and make his fists clench tighter at his sides. The curve of his blaster holster touches his knuckles and he has to tell himself not to grab at his weapon. Not yet.

Before the Rodian can turn away, Mando addresses him once again. “Do you know her name?”

“You think I’m stupid enough to talk to one of Moro’s girls?” And with that, he returns to swabbing the dirty dishrag over the glasses and leaves the bounty hunter to continue staring.

Time ticks by slowly but he doesn’t feel impatient. He’s played the waiting game many times before and this is no different. He didn’t survive all these years by being rash and impulsive. If it took all night, the Mandalorian would wait. Fortunately for him, it didn’t take that much longer.

For nearly an hour, he sits exactly where he is on the opposite side of the bar, watching from behind his helmet. It’s hard for him to endure, seeing her being pawed at and handled so roughly, and several times he fights the urge to pull his blaster out and fire a shot right through Moro’s head. But if the guy is as infamous as the Rodian had said, Mando knew that doing that would bring more heat than he wanted to take on at the moment.

When the man finally stands to his feet, he jerks the chain around her throat so hard, she lets out a cry that Mando can hear over the incessant music still playing. In the back of his mind, he urges her to fight back, do _something_. At seeing her lack of fight he realizes whatever she’s been through the last several months since they’ve seen each other has done its damage.

And though his purpose in stopping at this port was to refuel and buy a few supplies, he can’t leave now knowing this is her life now.

As the two of them leave the cantina, Mando stands to his feet and slips out behind them, careful to keep enough distance between them to not raise suspicions. The noises of the cantina begin to fade away the further he follows them. Even in the dark, he can see the chain is pulled taut with her struggling to keep up.

Moro turns a corner between two market stalls, belching loudly as he leads her, right behind him, never letting go of the hold he has on her. In the back of his mind, Mando knows he has no business following this person and that if he wasn’t nearly positive she’s the same girl he met months before, he wouldn’t have given them a second glance. But knowing it could be her, that it more than likely _is_ her, the need to do something nags at him.

It sits on his chest like an open wound from a blaster, burning into his skin down to the fibers of his muscles. If he leaves without knowing for sure, he’ll never be able to stop thinking about it.

He has to be sure before he leaves.

That’s all this is, he tells himself. Just checking in to make sure she’s alright.

Even as he lies to himself, he knows she isn't. He’d have to be blind to not see the way she struggled against her bindings or the way her entire body tensed up whenever that man laid a finger on her. She's being hurt and knowing he might be the reason why she’s in this current predicament makes Mando’s stomach clench tight.

He continues to follow them, sticking close to the shadows beneath the overhang of the buildings. For someone as infamous as Moro, he doesn’t seem to suspect anyone of harming him at such a late hour of the night. Then again, maybe his reputation has secured his safety for so long he’s grown careless. Which is fortunate for the Mandalorian.

There’s mumbling coming from the pair up ahead and Mando slides into a hiding place behind several crates stacked up next to the building beside him. From his position, he can’t hear what the man is saying but he can tell by her body language that it isn’t friendly. Moro jerks the chain in his fist and sends her sprawling toward him. She falls against his chest and he snakes an arm around her waist, reaching across to take hold of her elbow.

Mando nearly steps out from behind his hiding place at the sight, fighting the bile quickly rising into his throat. When he sees Moro tilt his head back and laugh, he hesitates and stays in the shadows. And once again, she’s dragged onward through the streets of the port town.

They stop outside a rather large building compared to the ones surrounding it and Mando hangs back a few yards to watch. Two guards stand watch near the door and clutch blasters to their chest. Moro drags her into the doorway between them and after it shuts Mando lets out a small sighing breath that fogs his visor.

He shouldn’t be doing this.

She isn’t any of his business and he's got a job to do.

Before he can turn and leave, he lets out a curse under his breath and shakes his head, knowing no matter how much he tells himself that, he won’t believe it. She may not be his business, but there’s no way he can leave now. He moves quietly toward the building, but even if he had stomped up to the guards, he doubts they would have been prepared for him. They were easy to dispose of with a quick blast to each of their heads and as they crumple to the ground, he hits the door release panel on the side of the wall. It slides open with a quick hiss of the mechanics and he ducks inside.

The darkness of the hallway is welcome and Mando quickly scans his surroundings. Two doors to the left, one to the right and a stairwell at the end of the narrow corridor. From the second floor, he hears the distinct sound of flesh hitting flesh-- _hard_ , feet stumble over the floor and there’s a sharp cry that follows soon after.

His fist curls tighter around the blaster as he moves toward the stairs, keeping an eye on the doors he passes just in case. By the time he reaches the stairs, Moro’s words reach his ears, all but confirming Mando’s previous assumptions.

“...don’t get to tell me no, whore.” The chain rattles and something heavy drags across the floor. “Have you forgotten what happens to those who disobey me?”

“No--” The word is barely out of her lips before another slap rings out. When she speaks again, her voice is struggling to stay steady despite her shaking breath. “No, sir.”

Mando nears the top of the stairs and glances back to make sure he’s still alone. The way the room above him is situated, he won’t be able to get a good look at the surroundings until he’s inside it. It isn’t ideal, but he’s faced worse before.

“Tha’s a good girl,” Moro snarls. His voice is accompanied by the rattling of the chain and what sounds like a zipper being yanked down. “Now show me how much you ‘preciate my generosity.”

The tone of his voice makes Mando’s lip curl in disgust. He’s heard enough. By the sound of things, they should be the only two in the room, but it isn’t a guarantee. After hearing briefly about the type of person Moro is, Mando can’t count out the possibility that there weren't any guards in there, watching whatever is about to happen.

It doesn't matter. Moro isn't going to get too far tonight.

Mando grips his blaster tightly and moves up the final two steps, emerging into the faint light glowing from a few bare bulbs on the ceiling. Just as he had suspected, three guards are standing at various points of the room, and each of them has their eyes glued to what she was currently doing.

He sees out of the corner of his gaze that she's on her knees and can tell her hands are reaching for Moro's crotch, but he doesn't focus on it for long. The blaster raises and with a squeeze of his finger, a bolt is shot through the head of the guard closest to him. The body crumples limply to the ground and the other two quickly snatch their weapon to defend their boss.

A droid stands up in the corner of the room and Mando takes care of it easily with a well-aimed shot, turning as bits of metal explode out of its head. He ducks to the left as a bright blast pings off the beskar on his right shoulder. While the guard who fired is readjusting his shot, Mando makes quick work of him.

Moro is shouting and retreating behind an overturned table that Mando knows wouldn't stop a blast from penetrating it, but Moro still has the girl and that puts the bounty hunter in a sticky situation. He won't risk shooting her.

The last guard abandons his blaster and rushes Mando with an outdated electro-staff. It swings wildly down in an arc, aimed at his head, and Mando throws up his arm, letting the bulk of the blow hit his vambrace. He twists his arm around the staff taking hold of it. With one quick jerk, the guard stumbles forward and Mando points his blaster beneath his chin, squeezing a single round off before dropping the body with a heavy thud.

In the silence, he turns back to the overturned table and takes a single step. Every muscle in his body is coiled tight, ready to make the shot that will take Moro out. He comes to a stop several paces away and waits. It isn't long before the pervert speaks up.

"Well?" He demands with a crazed lilt at the end of his word. "Is the Mandalorian dead?"

"No."

Moro curses beneath his breath and very slowly, he pokes his head up above the edge of the table to catch a quick glance of the Mandalorian. He's back under the cover of the table in a flash, hiding like a coward.

"Let her go," Mando commands. The sound of Moro's bitter laugh grates on the hunter's nerve and he takes another step forward. His eyes scan the table, trying to pinpoint exactly where his fat, balding head is hiding. He can't risk hitting her. He lets a slow breath of frustration from his nose. He'll have to wait until the brute rears his ugly head.

"Let my human shield go? You must be stupid."

Mando lifts his blaster and points it to the table before lowering it once again. Anger was flaring hot at the edges of his vision and he coaxes it back down, letting it brew just beneath the surface instead. The tension along his shoulders shifts and now sits at his jaws clenched so tight he can feel the pressure in his teeth.

He isn't going to deal with this all night.

When Moro speaks again, his voice is accompanied by the rattling of the chain. "You just take a few steps back and I'll consider coming along nicely."

"You're not exactly in a position to make demands." Silence is his only answer and with another sigh of annoyance, he retreats two steps toward the door at his back. "Let her go."

"Again," Moro laughs. "You're stupider than you look. Who sent you anyway? Whatever they're paying you to capture me, I can double it if you promise to turn around and walk away."

Mando doesn't respond. He wishes he did have a bounty on him, one that calls for 'dead or alive' but he can't admit to Moro that he's there for an entirely selfish reason. Though that isn't necessarily true. He's there for her. To help her.

He doesn't admit it, but her silence is making him nervous. If she's already dead, he's going to string Moro up by his toes and drag him behind the Razor Crest upon departure. He pushes the thought out of his mind and takes another step back.

"I'm not here for you," he says calmly, though his mind is steadily going through his typical motions. Scanning his surroundings, listening for anyone possibly approaching, trying to anticipate Moro's next move. "I'm here for her."

The small squeak that he hears definitely doesn't come from Moro and he lets out a small breath of relief. She's still alive. At least he's sure of that now. The chain scrapes and rattles from behind the table and he hears her make another strangled cry. Moro is making his move and Mando adjusts accordingly, positioning his blaster toward the table.

When the man stands, he's got her in front of him. A human shield; just as he'd described her. Her greasy hair is hanging across her face but even through it, he can see she's clenching her teeth together behind her lips. The hand at her throat grips tighter, wrapped in the rust-covered chain, and at the side of her head, Moro holds his own blaster pointing right at her temple. From around her head, Moro's face peeks out but not nearly enough that Mando has a clean shot.

"What'd you want her for?"

"She's a friend." Mando steps to the side, following the two of them as Moro steers her to the side of the room with the only escape route.

"What's a Mandalorian doing being friends with a whore?"

He doesn't dignify him with an answer and instead focuses on finding a good shot. The man is much wider than she is, but he doesn’t want to risk hurting her. His eyes drift down and through her legs, Mando can see Moro’s pudgy kneecap. It wouldn't be too difficult to bring him down with that but can he risk her being shot? He thinks briefly about telling her to duck to give him a clear shot, but the chain around her throat won't give her much room to move.

"Last chance, Moro." The words make the man's grip around her throat grow tighter and she lets out a choked gag. "Let her go."

"Way I see it, if a bounty hunter is after her, she must be worth something. So, if it's all the same, I think I'll--"

Mando reacts before the words leave his mouth and he's thankful that for the moment, her head is blocking Moro's view. The grappling hook catches on the chain and he jerks his arm back, pulling her forward. She cries out in surprise and the hold her captor has on her falters, sending her spinning until her back is nearly slamming into the floor. She's only stopped by the short length of chain between her throat and his fist and while she's out of the line of fire, the Mandalorian fires.

It's a clean shot and it hits Moro directly between the eyes. He blinks in surprise before falling backward with a heavy thump and when the dust settles, Mando's eyes fall to where she’s kneeling on the dusty floor. The chain is loose and pooled around her legs and he can see a slight tremble in her fingers as she covers her head.

Seconds stretch between them but slowly, she lowers her hands and sits up. Her head lifts and Mando's body takes a step toward her before he even knows he's moving. At the sound of his steps, she turns to face him and pushes her hair away from her face. Her eyes, once warm and full of laughter and spark have changed. The rich hues of brown he remembered were now faded and milky and he can't help his jaw hanging loose behind his helmet as his feet come to a stop.

"You're blind."

  
  
  


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	2. The Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm so surprised by the positive feedback I've gotten so far! Thank you to everyone for reading, commenting, leaving kudos and bookmarking! I really appreciate it!

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Special thanks to [Moonlady9](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlady9/pseuds/Moonlady9) for being an amazing beta! 

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_Nine Months Earlier_

Sera Yarrow can only be sure of two things in her life. The first thing is that after spending her entire life on the small farming planet of Cress, she's developed a sense of wanderlust that lies just beneath the surface of her skin, like an itch she can't quite reach. And no matter how many times she picks up her home and moves it to the next village or the next, always seeking something more, she knows that what she's looking for will only be found among the stars. Which means she has to get off this planet.

The second thing that Sera is certain of, is that being a woman leaves very little opportunities to leave this stifling planet and there are certain things she has to do to get what she wants. On Cress, a woman's duties are to her family. She’s obedient, steadfast, and sacrifices her own selfish wants and desires to pursue a family. It’s just what’s expected of them and no one in hundreds of years has challenged these beliefs. Well, no one that stuck around Cress that is. Around here, a woman’s only purpose is to serve and Sera just isn't the kind of woman who can easily assume that role.

She’s tried. It just never works out.

Which was why she had left her home at an early age and sought a less strict and controlling way of life. It, unfortunately, did not exist on Cress. Even in the more urban areas, the villages with the busy ports and ships zooming in and out for supply pickups and trading brought her no luck. She’s had to find her own way to make a few credits here and there, enough to save up for a way off this podunk planet. It isn't easy work or even honorable, but what can you do?

She's desperate and if that means standing near the stalls in the market square, flirting with the lonely pilots and drunken men with loose purse strings then so be it. And currently, that is exactly what she is doing.

The sun is high overhead and the heat beats down on the bustling market. The day is warm, as it usually is right before the harvest season, calling for thin linen clothes. For someone like Sera, this means good business. Warmer temperatures lead to fewer layers and more skin she could show.

She’s standing between the local tavern and one of the stalls that didn’t mind her presence. The man running it is much older than Sera and while the older generations usually didn’t take too kindly to the sorts of things she did to earn credits, this one’s not too bad. He greets her every day with the same short nod of his head as he lays out his wares.

Sometimes, Sera thinks he only lets her stand near his stall because she drums up potential business. Men stumbling out of the tavern tend to notice the amount of skin she has exposed and when they draw near to proposition her, they then notice the various goods on the tables.

She leans back against the cool stone of the wall and curls the thin chain of her necklace around her finger, glancing over the collection of items he’s gathered to sell. It’s an assortment, like always, from small sacks of dried fruits and vegetables to small mechanical parts used to repair ships. Sera knows nothing about that, though she’s always curious about them.

She picks up one of the small metal bolts, rolling it in her palm before looking up to the man standing beneath the canopy of the stall. “Are these important?”

He lets out a snort. “Only if you want to get your ship off the ground in one piece.”

She suspects that’s what he tells everyone whether it is true or not, so she sets the bolt back down onto the table among the other spare parts. Inside the tavern to her right, sounds of a fight reach the streets and she turns just in time to see a man falling back on his ass right in front of her. He groans and rolls onto his side, wobbling as he does so. 

She wonders if he’s wasted all of his money on alcohol. Usually men this drunk, she didn’t waste her time with. He looks as if he’s been drowning himself in ale for the past few days, but she was down to her last trugut and it wouldn’t last much longer. She'll have to earn some money whether she wants to or not. 

With a sigh, she pushes off the wall and strolls toward the man now sitting up, shaking his greasy head with a groan. He notices her sandals first and follows the length of her legs. His head tilts back and he blinks slow and unevenly at her, a lopsided smile stretching across his chapped lips.

“You a mirage?” He asks. Behind her, the man at the stall snorts again but doesn’t say anything so she ignores him.

“Not quite.” She holds her hand out for him and he takes it with a sweaty palm. With a slight struggle, he stands to his feet and she lets him take a good look at her from this angle. It used to bother her the way men stare, but she’s learned to use it to her advantage by now. And with men this drunk, she could have looked like a Gungan and would attract them. “Are you alright? You took a nasty fall.”

“Might need somethin’ to make it better,” he slurs.

She holds back a grimace as a ship soars over the market. The engines roar upon descent and Sera waits for the quiet before speaking up once more. “Well, my friend sells lots of food that could make you feel better or,” she pauses and looks up at him from beneath her lashes, and just like all the other men she’s looked at this way, he reacts the same. “Maybe I could help?”

His grin is slow but when its stretched across his face, she can see the yellow stains of his teeth and mentally makes a note to avoid kissing him if she can. Just being near him will be bad enough.

Before he can answer her either way, he’s distracted by the sound of someone running quickly down the dusty street. It’s a younger man, holding onto the straw hat on his head with one hand while he runs. He stops at one of the carts that sell fabric and says something to the vendor. Whatever he tells them is enough to make the man promptly pack his belongings up and steer the cart down the nearest alley.

Sera frowns and blinks in surprise as the guy skids to a halt in front of them, eyes wide and darting between the three faces. “A bounty hunter just landed--a Mandalorian!”

And with that, he takes off again, ducking into the tavern to warn anyone he can. By the time Sera turns back to her potential job, he’s sobered up enough to run in the opposite direction, taking his credits with him. Her shoulders fall, though she can’t say she’s too disappointed in avoiding the task of having to spend the next several minutes beneath him. The credits would have been nice to have though.

It isn’t long before the majority of the hustle and bustle of the market dies completely. People duck into buildings, pack their stalls away before disappearing and soon, she and her silent partner are one of the few left standing in the market square. Her frown pinches her brows together and she crosses her arms over her chest.

“What’s gotten into everyone?”

He sniffs, making the thick salt and pepper mustache above his lip twitch. “What do you think?” he asks derisively but not unkindly. 

“The bounty hunter?” When he gives only a scoff as his response, Sera presses on. “We’ve had bounty hunters here before but no one ever reacted quite like this. The entire market just cleared out!”

She waves her hand toward the empty streets and as she does so, she catches sight of someone stepping into the main center of the town. They’re much too far away for her to tell if it’s a man or a woman, not to mention, their armor covered them from head to toe. Her eyebrows lift and the man in the stall beside her sighs as if this is all just an annoyance that hurts his business.

Sera’s too busy watching the bounty hunter. They lift a hand and stare down at something they’re holding. She has to admit; this bounty hunter’s presence is much more menacing than the last few that had graced this port.

“Those hunters weren’t Mandalorians,” he says wisely, irritated, and spits onto the ground.

Growing up on farms and only learning the basic functions of a woman’s life, Sera didn’t have the same opportunities that other women in the galaxy had. She knows how to sew her own clothes, knows how to cook and plant vegetables, but as limited as she is about the rest of the galaxy, even she knows about Mandalorians.

She just never believed she would see one in person. Besides, weren’t they all gone anyway?

“Everyone on this planet knows someone who’s jumped bail,” the man grunts before stepping out from behind his table of goods. He folds the sacks of dried foods into a strip of canvas, packs it away, and turns back to do the same for the rest of his wares. “Not a good day for business. Try again tomorrow.”

For the past several months, she’s stood next to his stall from sun up to sundown, and not once has he packed away this early. Even in the colder months, even when he had been wracked with cough and could barely talk, he stood in the market, behind the same tables.

Sera frowns and looks at the Mandalorian once more. The sight of him making his way toward their end of the street startles her and she isn’t sure if she should abandon the day as well. Then again, what does she have to be afraid of? It’s not like she has a bounty over her head.

Now that her only friend has packed his cart and is rolling it away, she watches the bounty hunter move closer. He pauses, checks the tracker in his hands, and lifts his head. She wonders if he notices her standing there or that she’s the only person left in the street. If he does, she has no way to know.

What she does know is that he’s now the only person in this town who pilots a ship that doesn’t just stick to the planets in this system. He has no interest in staying for the harvest season coming up, or making trips to the nearest planets for trade. His travels span multiple systems across the galaxy.

He just might be her only ticket out of here.

That itch beneath the surface of her skin flares up all of a sudden, enough to make her step away from the building and directly into the bounty hunter’s path. He stops a few steps from her and though she has no way of knowing for sure if he’s looking at her, she can tell. Her face burns beneath his scrutiny and she swallows as her mind reels for the words to say.

“Looking for someone?” She waits for his answer and when it’s clear that he isn’t going to give her one she crosses her arms over her chest. “You might have a hard time finding them.”

“I think I can handle it,” his voice is deeper than she expected and sounds strange coming from the helmet. He offers her nothing else and steps to the side. 

She does the same and holds her hands up, palms facing him, as she shrugs. “Okay, but I could make it easier for you.”

“I’m not interested in spending my credits or my night with you."

Her first instinct is to slap that helmet off his head for being so presumptuous, but she's sure that if she tries, she'd be the only one in pain. Instead, she squares her jaw and stands akimbo. She looks up at him with what she hopes is enough disdain that he can _feel_ it. "Who said anything about spending the night together? I was talking about helping you find your bounty."

"Oh," comes his only response. Sera arches an eyebrow as he shifts from one foot to the other. "I shouldn't have assumed--"

"It's fine. Just keep your head out of the gutter from now on, alright?" The sight of him tilting his helmet ever so slightly to the side makes the corner of her lips lift in a smirk and she mimics his movements to look him over. "May I see the puck?"

"Why?"

“I’ve lived all over this planet and I’ve met quite a few people so I might know the guy. ”

“What makes you so sure it’s a guy?”

She doesn't try to hide the dramatic roll of her eyes or her heavy sigh before glancing to where the street stretches beyond the two of them. It leads directly out of the town center to the expanse of wheat fields that make up ninety percent of the planet and she's almost certain that those who need to hide from a bounty hunter were well aware of his presence by now. No matter. The longer he stands here, the more he's going to need her help.

“Because," she says with a deep breath. "Women on Cress are unspeakably dull. They hardly ever leave the planet long enough to find trouble. I’d be surprised if your bounty is a woman. Is it?”

"No."

“Didn’t think so.” Again, she holds her hand out with her palm up. When he looks down at it, she wiggles her fingers for him. “May I see it?”

“As I said, I think I can handle it.” He steps around her and she turns as he does, her eyes scanning the edges of his helmet and down to the bunch of fabric around his neck. The edges of his cape are tattered and they brush briefly against her bare shins, promoting her to move.

Sera follows him and can't help the small smile on her lips as he glances back at her. “I’m sure you can handle it but in case you didn't notice, as soon as you landed, everyone in this port that knows someone with a bounty on their head just took off to tell them. You can chase whoever it is all over the planet and back for the next few weeks, or you can accept my help and possibly find them within the day.”

The Mandalorian comes to a stop and she keeps the distance between them. He turns to stare at her over his armored shoulder and she smiles sweetly to him. With an irritated sigh, he reaches into a pocket at his side and produces a small cylindrical object before dropping it into her waiting hand. He presses a button on the side and a holographic image of a man's head pops up.

Sera stares at the slowly rotating image. Above the man's head is the name 'Leo Codnor' and she immediately recognizes the surname.

Near the village she had spent her childhood years, there had been a family of recluses not too far from the fields. They rarely came to trade but when they did, there were dozens of them in tow. Of course, she had heard rumors of the family's inbreeding that made each member of the Codnor's look a bit strange.

Their foreheads protruded, their eyes were wide-set and ears sat just a bit lower than an average human. And since the people of Cress didn't usually reproduce with alien species, the only other possibility was inbreeding.

This Leo Codnor definitely belongs to the family. Hopefully, he had returned to his familial home. As much as she loathes the thought of ever going near the village again, she hopes she was right about this. It won't bode well for her to further annoy the only person she's come in contact with over the past few years who can transport her far, far away. 

Sera lifts her head and smiles up at the bounty hunter. "Looks like you're in luck. I know his family and where you can most likely find him."

"Where?" He reaches for the puck still in her hands and she pulls back before he can snatch it. The tilt of his helmet tells her he's instantly annoyed but she doesn't let her smile fade.

"Not so fast. My information doesn't come free, you know?"

"How much do you want?" His words sound different as if they're spoken through clenched teeth. As much as she's enjoying playing this little game with him, she knows he's more than capable of doing this on his own if he grows tired of her.

"I don't want credits."

“Then what _do_ you want?”

“Transport. Off this planet and out of this system.”

He's shaking his head before the words leave her mouth all the way and Sera notices him start to stretch for the puck once more. She holds it behind her back and twists her body away from him so he can't reach it. Through the narrow, tinted visor she knows he's glaring down at her and as menacing as he is decked out from head to toe in his well-worn armor, she can't let herself be intimidated by him.

"If you're trying to skip out on your debts, I'm not the best choice to help you do that."

"I don't have any debts," she says, taking a single step back so she isn't having to crane her neck to look up at him. "And I'm willing to pay you for your trouble."

"If you're not running from your debts, then why do you want off Cress so badly?"

It's apparently too much to hope for a no questions asked policy with him, but he's her only ticket off this podunk planet. Sure, she can wait for someone else who might venture to other systems but she's been waiting for the past few years for someone like that. This was her only way and if that meant telling him the truth, then so be it.

"Because," she starts, wondering just how honest she can be with him. "Life for a woman around here starts as soon as she can produce children and ends when she can't any longer. I'm not looking for that kind of life. I don’t want to be married to some wheat farmer, pop out ten children in so many years, and die without ever seeing the galaxy. I just want transport out of this system and as soon as we find a decent planet, I’ll be out of your hair.” She pulls the puck out from behind her back and holds it up in front of her, still out of his direct reach. “Do we have a deal?”

"Fine." He plucks the bounty puck from her fingers and she can't help the smile that stretches across her face. It takes a moment for her to calm the beat of her heart and she clears her throat.

"Good. Now, we should probably find a cruiser. This trip’s going to take a few hours.”

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I thought I would take this time to explain exactly how I plan to lay the chapters out for this story. I chose the name Symmetry because I want to do something I've never done before. 
> 
> And that is, each chapter will be alternating between the past and the present. I really want to juxtapose the relationship between Sera and Mando from the past to what it will grow into during the present. It will be fun to contrast who they were to who they are now next to one another instead of laying out each one linearly. What I'm interested in doing is something a bit different than what I'm used to and (hopefully) it will be interesting to read this way as well! 
> 
> Thanks again for reading and I hope you'll come back for the next chapter!


	3. The Getaway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to everyone who left kudos and comments! It really means a lot! I hope you like this chapter :)

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The room is still silent, with only the Mandalorian's words echoing in the wake of the destruction he had caused. He can only stand there, still as a statue, staring down at the two eyes gazing blindly up at him. She blinks and lays her hands down on the dusty floor, the look of hurt and confusion on her face snapping him out of his daze.

Mando holsters his blaster and hurries to her. He kneels down and takes her by the arms but she jerks back at the touch of his hands. It hurts, he won't deny it. She shakes her head and pushes herself back on the floor, the threadbare fabric of her skirt catching on a few loose splinters.

"Don't," she says shakily. It immediately makes him pull his hands away from her but he doesn't stand or move away. "Why are you here?"

He doesn't have an answer for her because his mind has gone completely blank from the moment he saw her eyes. The shock of it all was still lingering inside him and he swallows tightly. He clenches his fists, struggling with the urge to reach for her once again.

"I stopped to refuel." He watches her reach for her face to wipe the hair away from her forehead. It takes all of his strength to resist touching her. "I didn't know you would be here."

"Of course, I'm here." The bitter tone of her voice is like a slap to his face and he can't help flinching. "I'm exactly where you left me."

He wants to argue, wants to tell her that she's the one that made the choice to leave him, but he doesn't. What good would it do now? She had obviously suffered things he'll never be able to imagine in the months since they last saw one another.

Several times, he opens his mouth to say something, and each time, he shuts it again. Nothing sounds right. Nothing sounds enough. He frowns and leans forward to take her by the arms once more and when she tries to flinch away, he doesn't let her. "We have to get out of here."

"We?"

She struggles against him, but either she’s too weak to fight, or knows it's pointless. Either way, she steps up onto her feet and puts her hands against the armor of his chest, pushing him away. He lets his hands fall from her arms and glances at the dirty windows making up the back wall of the room. In the corner, the droid he had shot down is sparking and Sera turns toward the sound.

"I can't leave you here," he doesn't mean to whisper the words, but his voice is nowhere to be found at the moment.

"Leave me here again, you mean." She turns and blinks up at him. For the first time, the lights reach her face and he can see small traces of scarring around her eyes. His hands ache to touch her but he pushes the urge deep down and locks it away.

"We don't have time for that right now. Are you hurt?"

She doesn't answer him. The look on her face is passive, barely showing any emotion at all, but he can see traces of what she's thinking. She always wore it on her face no matter how much she tried to stop it. Mando knows they can't linger much longer in this warehouse. Moro and his goons are dead, but they're not the only threat this town held.

"Can you walk?" His words make him wince and he doesn't know why everything sounds wrong when he says them. When she looks up at him with a scowl, he braces himself for the sarcastic retort he knows is on her lips.

"I'm blind, not lame." Sera sighs and gestures with a wave of her hand toward the wall of windows. "There's a droid. It's a guide or something."

Wires spark from the hunk of metal now slumped on the floor and Mando wants to kick himself for being so impulsive with his shots earlier. “I think it got caught in the crossfire.”

He steps toward her and though she can't see him, she turns and gives him the look he remembered all too well. A single eyebrow arched on her forehead and a frown turned her lips downward. He ignores it and slips an arm around her back, careful to keep his hands at her side and not her hip or anywhere that might feel inappropriate.

"What are you doing?" Her voice is right at his ear, with only the beskar of his helmet separating him from feeling the warmth of her breath. He doesn't let himself acknowledge the way her words make him feel.

"I'm getting you out of here. Be careful where you step." He moves forward and whether she wants to or not, she's pulled alongside him.

She's unsure of her steps and after stumbling over Moro's foot jutting out from behind the overturned table, she allows herself to use Mando's free arm to steady her balance. Together, they manage to make it to the first floor of the warehouse and he takes his arm away from her at the door. She doesn't reach for him to return to her and he isn't sure if he should reassure her that he's only checking the alley outside. Judging by the look on her face, he can see that she really doesn't care.

He leans around the door and takes a glance at the street. Aside from two obviously drunken men down at the end of the alley, the coast is clear. Maybe Moro isn't as important to the port as the bartender had made him out to be.

Mando takes her by the hand once more and she lets him pull her out onto the dusty street. Her feet are bare and blistered already. Before he can scoop her up and carry her, he decides against it and they continue through the shadows.

It's strange being near her again. For so long he had put her completely out of his head, not allowing himself to think of where she was or what they had been. He frowns at the thought. They had been nothing but friends. Friends with an undeniable burn of tension that he had extinguished months ago when she walked away from him.

Sera's fingers tighten around the material between the beskar plates, pulling him out of his thoughts. He turns to look back at her and hopes the pinch between her eyebrows isn't because she's in pain or anything too serious. When she doesn't speak, he steers her onward. Through the narrow alleys between the buildings and behind the tavern where he had seen her earlier, they slowly make their way back to the shipyard.

The Razor Crest sits near the back of the lot, dwarfing the small vessels used to putter back and forth between the nearby planets. He scans the surroundings and looks for any shadowy figures lurking about. Any other time, he would have taken his time, made sure no threats are waiting for them. Any other time, he wouldn't be in such a hurry.

Sera's steps are slower than his and she stumbles along the gravel path. There's a wince on her face that she quickly wipes away as he turns his head to her but he spots it easily. He slides to a stop on the loose stones and bends down before she can realize what is happening. The moment his arm reaches behind her legs, she jumps to the side and shakes her head.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm helping you."

She doesn't let him scoop her off the ground and takes another step away from him, her hands falling away as well. Mando sighs heavily and straightens. "Look, I don't need you to carry me like a child, alright? I may be blind, but I'm not helpless."

"I can either carry you out of here or drag you."

"There!" A voice shouts from behind them and both Mando and Sera turn toward the sound. A small group of men, dressed in dark clothing and carrying weapons are pointing toward them and Mando reaches for his blaster with one hand while grabbing her around the waist with the other.

"What the--" Sera's protest is cut off as he lifts her from the ground and tucks her beneath his arm. She hangs there, unable to raise herself enough to fight back and he runs toward the ship.

"Drop the slave!" One of the men shouts, firing a shot that just barely passes over the bounty hunter's shoulder. He ducks to the right and spins in one fluid motion. Raising his blaster, he manages to take out one of them with a shot to the head.

"Mando, this really hurts!" Sera's hands are around his wrist and he can feel that the vambrace of his arm is digging into her ribs. He can't risk letting her go. She'll only slow them down and the ship was too close to stop now. "I can't breathe."

Another shot fires, pinging off the plate on his back and he ducks quickly between two smaller ships waiting in the yard. Once he's sure they're under sufficient cover, he sets Sera down and she takes in a deep breath, rubbing at her tender bruises. Mando readies his blaster and takes a peek around their cover.

The group is still pursuing them but are breaking off. One crosses the shipyard and circles around behind the Razor Crest and Mando sighs. They're being flanked. Quickly, he presses a switch on the computer panel in his vambrace and the bay doors of the ship start to lower. They could attempt to make a run for it, but between carrying her and trying to fight off an attack, he isn't sure they could reach the ship in time.

Which means he's going to have to fight here.

He reaches back and puts a hand against Sera's stomach, guiding her back against the vessel they were hiding behind. When her back hits the metal, she lets out a sigh. The sound makes the bounty hunter turn with a glare toward her. He never dreamed he would actually miss how talkative she used to be. What he wouldn't give to hear her crack a joke right about now.

"Give up the girl," A voice echoes from the darkness surrounding the various ships and Mando rolls his eyes. He looks through the computer of his visor for the heat signatures in the area and finds one man crouching beneath the landing gear of the Razor Crest. The easiest target and the only one standing in the direct path of their escape. "Give her up and you can leave with no problems."

"I've heard that one before," he mutters to himself and though he didn't expect her to even hear it, she scoffs.

"They just want their property back," Sera says bitterly.

"Yeah? Well, you're no one's property." As much as he wants to see the look on her face at that moment, he kneels and focuses on the body heat of the man hiding ahead of them. From this position, Mando has a clear shot and he slowly pulls the rifle from behind his back. He aims, finding the bulk of the figure in his crosshairs before pulling the trigger.

In an eruption of dust and fibers, the man is reduced to atoms and the bounty hunter wastes no time. He plucks another cartridge from the belt around his calf and loads it into the rifle. There's a quick shuffle as the others regroup and duck back behind their cover. It's at this moment that Mando moves.

Once again, his arm wraps around Sera's waist and he lifts her off the dusty ground. She makes a strangled noise of surprise in the back of her throat that he ignores before he sets off toward his ship. The bay doors are already lowering, casting the soft glow of the lights from within onto the ground.

Shouting from the back of the shipyard makes the bounty hunter spin around and he raised the rifle. It's hard to use with only one hand but he manages to find his target and fires another shot. He doesn't wait around to see if it hit.

He hauls Sera up the ramp and all but tosses her inside, ducking to the right where the computer panel was located. A flash of red zipped past his head and he curled his arm around her frame. She's pressed hard against his side and he rams his elbow into the buttons just inside the door. The sound of the hydraulics hissing is a relief to his ears but he doesn't take the time to enjoy their safety.

Once the door shut with a secure click of the mechanics, he turns to face her. The curtain of hair is covering her face once again and he wants to reach over and brush it away. He doesn't let himself and instead turns to make his way to the ladder at the opposite side of the cargo hold.

"Hold onto something. I'm getting us out of here."

She says something beneath her breath, another sarcastic remark, and he's glad he can't hear it. As soon as he's back in the pilot's chair, he goes through the motions that are second nature to him by now. Switch the engines on, prepare the thrusters, raise the landing gear. His hands work on their own and within moments, the ship is ready.

Outside, the group pursuing them is firing shots in rapid-fire that ping off the metal facade in flashes of red. Mando ignores them and presses the toggle to raise the landing gear. The engines roar to life and lift the ship off the ground. He wastes no time and steers the ship upward, pointing straight to the black sky covered in stars.

The blasts from below fade away as the Razor Crest lifts higher and higher, parting the low-hanging clouds. His fists vibrate around the toggles as he pushes the ship up and up. Even after they're breaking through the atmosphere of the planet, he doesn't let up. It wasn't impossible that the group would come after them, especially if they're slavers.

He reaches overhead to press the switch directly above to prepare the hyperdrive. He knows he should shout down to Sera to grab onto something, but his thumb is already turning it on and out of habit, his free hand reaches to push the lever forward. In a blur of white, the ship propels forward and leaves the backwater hellhole behind.

In the sudden quiet and stillness, he sits back in the chair and lets out a breath. He reaches for his helmet but pauses, glancing over his shoulder. It was strange how easily he fell back into the same habits he had developed when he knew her in the past. Always watching over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't near so he could slip his helmet off.

There's no point in doing that anymore.

She could be right in front of him and she would never see him.

Mando pulls the helmet off of his head and lets it drop into his lap before his hands rake through his hair. Thoughts spin through his mind and disappear as soon as he finds them and each one leaves him with more questions than answers. Questions he isn't sure he wants to ask or find the answers to.

Everything had happened so quickly. One second he had been ducking into the cantina to look for some under-the-table work and the next, he was shooting his way off the planet with her tucked beneath his arm. And now, knowing she's down in the cargo hold, unable to see a damn thing, makes him stand to his feet and slip his helmet back on in one motion.

By the time he's made his way down the ladder, she's on her feet and looking his way. It hurts to see the milky white of her eyes so he doesn't let himself stare for too long. Mando crosses the room in two steps and takes her by the arm. He manages to keep his hold on her for a split second before she's pulling away.

"I remember my way around, Mando."

His lips shut tightly and he takes a step back to watch her slowly move toward the table and chair across the room. Her hands search out in front of her and when she finds the chair, she sits down with a heavy exhale. At the sound of his boots tapping the floor, she turns to face him and forces a smile that he knows she doesn't feel.

"Can you see anything?"

Sera lifts her hand and swipes it through the air in front of her. "A huge brown blur. When you move, I see the edges of your armor and helmet, but only if it catches the light." Her hand drops back down to her lap and Mando frowns down at the raggedy material pooled between her legs. It's dingy and dusty around the hem but looks as though it might have been deep red at one point. When he looks up at her again, she's got the same forced smile that sits tight across her lips. "I'm sure you'd have preferred they take my tongue so I couldn't annoy you anymore."

"Don't say that. I should have come back sooner but I thought you had moved on. If I had known--"

"It's fine. Honestly."

Silence stretches between them and it's so thick, he can barely stand it. Ringing fills his ears and he wishes she would say something, bite his head off about the way he had held her too tightly or the state of his ship--a _nything_ that resembled the person she used to be. She remains quiet and he swallows tightly.

"Are you hungry?" He asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

"No."

"Are you...hurt?"

She closes her eyes and ducks her head down, letting a few strands of hair slip out from behind her ear. They fall across her face and she quickly tucks them back where they were. "I'm fine, Mando. You don't have to baby me."

He tries to restrain his annoyance but she has a way of bringing it out of him. "I'm not trying to baby you. I'm trying to apologize."

"For what?" Her eyes open and they're on him so quickly he almost thinks she can see him again. "You didn't do anything."

He swallows again, this time it's his pride that he's holding back and he cuts his eyes to the chamber across the room. The door is shut and he knows the kid is behind it, sleeping--or at the very least occupying himself with something. Otherwise, he'd be making an awful lot of noise to be let out. Mando takes a deep breath and turns back to Sera.

"You're right. I didn't. I left you behind and I shouldn't have."

"I walked out of your ship on my own, Mando, in case you don't remember." Another forced smile that tightens her lips instead of lifts them. He doesn't know why it hurts to see her try to pretend for him.

"I do remember. I shouldn't have left you the way I did. Not after what happened--"

She's on her feet so suddenly, he assumes something is wrong and he reaches for her out of instinct. She's much quicker and steps away so he can't take her hand. "I'd rather not reminisce at the moment if it's all the same to you."

"Sera--"

"Don't. Just don't." There's a quick crack in her voice and the bounty hunter drops his hands to his lap, though he doesn't take his eyes off her face. He watches the muscles along her throat stretch as she swallows. She turns away from him and quickly says, "I need to use the refresher."

He stands to help her find her way, but she had been telling the truth earlier. She finds the way relatively easily and as soon as the door shuts behind her, Mando leans against the ladder and lets out a breath that fogs the inside of his visor.

"You don't have to stick around you know? This isn't my first time." Her sarcastic tone has returned and he's thankful to hear it. Even if she made it a point to grate on his every nerve, he welcomed it. He had missed it.

"I'll prepare you a cot so you can rest."

It doesn't take long to set her up an area behind the table. The spare cot he had been keeping around since the last time she was in his life was far too short for him, but he remembers how she fit comfortably on it. For so long all he had were memories of her and the echoes of her laughter and teasing. Now that she's back, he can't help but mourn those times. His mind wants to wander back to then, to think of all the times they spent in this room together, talking and growing close. He doesn't let it.

It hurt enough the first time.

He's finishing up by the time the door slides open and she appears at the threshold of the refresher. Whether he was too distracted to hear her actually use it, or if she spent the last few minutes just to sit in silence, he wasn't sure. He takes a step back and clears his throat so she knows he's still in the room.

"I have some blankets for you and a cot if you're tired."

"I am," she says quietly, making no move to cross the room. "Thank you."

Out of nowhere, the tension between them spikes enough that it brings a small sheen of sweat to the small of his back. The need to be close to her is almost overwhelming but he knows he can't. Not after the hell she'd been through. He can't even imagine what all she had been forced to endure the last several months. He doesn't want to imagine it. Knowing she lived through it was torture enough.

Mando wants to take his helmet off again, wants to feel the cool air against his skin, and just _breathe_. He keeps his hands at his side and Sera clears her throat, turning her head away from him. She takes a step forward and he does the same. If she needs help, he wants to be close by just in case.

For the most part, he lets her navigate her own way and though she's slow and cautious about her surroundings, she eventually finds her way with a little instruction from him. She sits down on the canvas of the cot and looks up at him. From this angle, he can see how thin she's grown and he wishes she had accepted his offer to feed her.

He wouldn't let her turn it down when she woke.

The sight of her collar bones and sunken cheeks breaks his heart for the tenth time since seeing her in the cantina. He forces his hands to stay at his side, though he wants to brush the hair from her face. Touching her seems wrong and uninvited. She's been touched too many times by horrible men with greedy hands and depraved intentions. Even if he wants to soothe her, Mando knows it's better not to.

"Get some rest," he says quietly, stepping away before he did something stupid.

"Thank you. I will." Sera nods and slides the blanket around her bare, bruised waist. As she gets situated on her side, curling up beneath the protection of the blanket, Mando turns away to make his way into the cockpit. His boots make quiet taps on each rung and by the time he reaches the top, he catches a different sound.

It's a quick sniff and at first, he thinks it's coming from the close compartment where he had hidden the kid away. By the second time, it's clear exactly what it is. A sob, muffled beneath the thick fabric of the blanket he had given Sera, was unmistakable.

Mando winced, shutting his eyes as he stands at the top of the ladder. He puts one hand to the wall and leans his weight into it. He clenches his jaw tightly and focuses on the sudden pressure on his teeth instead of the thought of her crying. If she wants him to comfort her and be there for her, she'll call for him.

When after several minutes she doesn't, Mando turns back around and once again, takes a seat in his usual chair. He pulls his helmet off once more and lets his head fall back, blinking up at the tunnel of white and blue as the ship moved faster than light through space. He didn't know where they were going, but he knew he wanted to put the galaxy between them and whatever nightmare she had been through on that planet.

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	4. The Favor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's not talk about how long it's been since I've updated this story.

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"We can't go straight into the village," Sera says as the Mandalorian steers the speeder bike toward a thick, grove of trees on the outskirts of the village. Currently, her skirt is gathered around her lap while she sits astride the bike behind the bounty hunter. There isn't much room on the seat for both of them and for the past hour, the metal of the bike has been vibrating uncomfortably right at her backside. She's ready to stretch her legs. "They'll see you coming and you'll be lucky to find a single rat that isn't in hiding."

The helmet on the bounty hunter's head shifts to the side and she wonders how he can even see out of the thing. The T-shape in the visor wouldn't offer much of a view, but he easily guides the bike into a thick patch of trees far enough away from the village. Once the engine is off, Sera breathes a sigh of relief and points toward the trees.

"There's a path through the forest that snakes around behind the Codnor compound. I think you can surprise them that way."

"How do you know all this?" The bounty hunter asks, twisting on the seat to look back at her. The metal of his armor digs into her thigh and she slides back on the bike. Any further and she'll slip off of it completely.

With a shrug, she glances toward the edge of the village that peeks out from around the grove of trees. She can see the old blacksmith's place and discarded crates scattered around the dusty streets. Nothing had changed in the years since she'd been here. Everything was just as backward and outdated as it ever was.

She sighs and turns her gaze back to the visor on his helmet. "Let's just say I'm familiar with the area."

He doesn't respond and she's thankful for his silence and the fact that he stands from the bike, giving her room to slide down onto the seat. It isn't much better, but at least the metal isn't digging into the flesh of her backside. She smooths her skirts back around her legs and crosses her arms over her chest.

Despite the heat of the last few months of the harvest season, the nights are notoriously cold and she hopes this won't take too long. She didn't exactly prepare to be out after dark. And the sooner she could get out of here and off this planet, the better. Being so close to her home village again was making her stomach twist into knots.

The feeling of someone staring at her pulls her attention to the Mandalorian and seeing the helmet pointed at her makes her sit up straight. "What?"

"You seem tense," his voice is quiet, but a bit too full of accusations. He suspects her of having ulterior motives. She can't fault him for it. She wouldn't exactly trust a stranger she'd met on the streets either.

"I don't like it here." It's all she wants to offer him, but he doesn't look away, respond or move an inch and it's clear he's still suspicious. Sera sighs and blows a loose strand of hair from her face. "This is the village where I was born, okay? I don't like them and they don't like me."

"Why?"

Were all Mandalorians this curious, or was she just lucky enough to get stuck with the one that was? She lets out another sigh and shrugs. "Do I have to get into it right now?"

"If I'm putting my trust in you, then I'd like to know why you're so jumpy."

"I'm not jumpy," She says with a roll of her eyes. "If you must know, these people--" she gestures toward the village with a flick of her hand--"are hicks. They live here, they die here, and to leave the way that I did is like a betrayal that they don't forget. There's a footpath in the trees and it'll lead you to the compound." After a moment's thought, she adds, "and watch out for the traps."

"Traps?" Sera winces at his tone and flashes an apologetic smile. "What kind of traps?"

"Just animal traps." Truthfully, she'd forgotten about the fact that the Codnor's were fur and meat trappers and had been for the past several generations. They may have been inbred hicks, but they were good at what they did and the village relied on them for food and winter clothing. "I doubt they'll have any on the trail, but if you have to get off of it, keep an eye out."

His growl is muffled behind his helmet and as he turns to face the trees, she purses her lips to keep the smile from her face. She's not sure why, but it's quite fun getting on his nerves. Of course, doing it too much might land her back where she was before; no way off of a desolate planet and forced to sell her body for credits.

"How many do you suppose there are?" He asks, glancing over his shoulder to her.

"Traps?"

"Codnors."

"Oh," she shrugs again and tries to recall from her memory. There were dozens of them when she was a child and with nothing else to do in their compound, she's sure they've been reproducing like animals. "Two dozen? Give or take a few."

"All of this information would have been nice to know earlier," he growls before stalking toward the line of trees. Once he's far enough in that Sera can no longer see him, she breathes a sigh and leans back on the bike. The sun is slipping further past the horizon and soon, it'll be dark.

As she reclines back onto her elbows, a thought pops into her head and she looks warily toward the trees. Should she have mentioned the pack of guard barghests that the Codnor family keeps for security?

It's far too late to call him back now. She doesn't want to risk alerting anyone about his presence...not to mention, the bounty hunter would for sure refuse to keep up his end of the deal if she got him ambushed. So instead, she stays quiet and hopes he can handle things.

She keeps an eye on the edge of the village ahead of her, hopeful that the Mandalorian had parked the bike far enough away to not be seen. The last thing she wants is a reunion with her father and siblings. It was doubtful that even if they did see her, they would speak to her. She fully expected to be spat out by everyone in the village and that was fine.

Soon, she will be off this desolate, backward rock, and finally able to start the life she's always wanted to have.

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Nearly an hour later, the Mandalorian drops a heavy sack onto the hovercart being pulled behind the speeder bike, and the bundle groans, making Sera whirl around in surprise. Her eyes go wide and she looks from the large lump on the cart up to the heavily armored man opposite of the bike from them. He lets out a deep breath, faces her, and his helmet tilts to the side.

"You didn't think I should know about the barghests?"

She winces apologetically and shrugs, hoping he doesn't hold it against her. "By the time I remembered," she offers the Mandalorian. "You were already too far away. But you handled it well!"

He's looking down at the rip in the fabric between his plates of armor and Sera winces at the sight of his injury. It isn't too bad, but there is blood and might require first aid spray which they will easily find back in the market.

"I can fix your sleeve. I'm good at sewing." It's one of the few things she remembered learning from her mother as a child.

"It's fine," he says with a huff, tossing his cloak over his shoulder before turning to the bike. Riding into the podunk village on the bike, wedged in tightly behind the bounty hunter was difficult enough--doing it while wearing a skirt is just uncomfortable and Sera doesn't look forward to making the trek again.

She takes a deep breath and glances toward the man she assumes is Leo Codnor wrapped up in a burlap sack. She points down to the bag and eyes the bounty hunter as he swings his leg over the bike and sits astride it. "This him?"

He glances over his shoulder and reaches back to the cart. In a flash, the top of the sack is wrenched away and Sera blinks down at the familiar face she had seen on the bounty puck. It takes a moment for Leo's eyes to adjust but it's not long before he looks up at her. The space between his eyes is far apart--a result of his inbreeding--and Sera can't help but stare at a fresh bruise in the spot.

He must have put up a bit of a fight against the Mandalorian, but its no surprise that he couldn't match skills. Leo sniffs and looks up at her with his lip curled in disgust.

"You," he spits. "I thought you done runned off like your whore momma."

Sera sighs and looks at the bounty hunter. Despite the helmet covering every inch of his head, she can almost feel the look of curiosity he's giving her. She rolls her eyes and reaches for the sack. The scratchy fabric covers Leo's head once more, but it doesn't stop him from throwing a string of curses at her.

She slides a leg over the back of the seat behind the bounty hunter and takes a moment to adjust her skirt around her lap. She keeps her knees behind his and hopes he doesn't take offense to her being so close. Sera has heard enough about the Mandalorians to know they have strict rules and codes they follow, but surely he wouldn't be offended by her bare legs.

Then again, if he was anything like the stuffy, boring jerks she had grown up with, he very well might be.

Before she's ready, the engine of the bike flares to life, and the bounty hunter twists the throttle, propelling them forward. The hovercart whips around behind them and Sera looks back to see the lumpy sack bouncing along.

Good.

She hopes he feels every bump.

The ride back doesn't take as long--or at least doesn't feel like it does--and Sera slides off the seat of the bike once they're back in the small market area. She spins around and holds up a finger to the Mandalorian. "I can be quick. I don't have much to bring with me anyway."

He offers her only a slight tilt of his helmet before he takes off toward the shipyard. He had given her half an hour to gather her things and say goodbye, though she had no one to say goodbye to.

Half the people she spoke to on a daily basis are the men she lures in and the other half is the old man who sets up his shop near her corner. And there was no telling where he went during the night. They never discuss things like that.

The only home she had known for the past several months is a small room above the cantina. It's noisy and smelly and she often couldn't fall asleep until the early hours of the morning, but the price is cheap and she has no other option. Until now, of course. There are several rooms that are rented out to travelers and other vagabonds that have no home.

If she disappears, no one will think twice about it and the room will have a new occupant by tomorrow.

She quickly grabs a canvas bag from the table beside the bed and she stuffs what little belongings she has in it. A few scarves, an extra skirt, and before there is no more room in the bag, she kneels to the floor and reaches beneath the mattress. Wedged between it and the frame of the bed is a small pouch she's kept her wupiupi.

The coins rattle in the pouch and she takes a quick peek inside. It isn't much, but she hopes its enough to get her somewhere new.

Throwing the strap over her shoulder, she stuffs the pouch down into her bag and hurries back out into the street. The stall where she had stood for the past several months is empty for the night and she reached out to touch the tabletop. Would her only friend wonder where she is when he shows up tomorrow and she's gone?

It's strange how she didn't even know his name and she's feeling remorse over being unable to say goodbye. Maybe it was better this way--like ripping a bandage off.

Sera turns on her heel and hurries toward the shipyard with her heart hammering in her chest. Her thoughts are scattered between excitement, worry, doubt, and relief. She doesn't know which one to settle on, which one is stronger. She just hopes that the Bounty Hunter hasn't left her behind.

He doesn't owe her anything, but she hoped he would at least hold up his end of their bargain the way she had. Then again, she had neglected to tell him about the barghests. Would he hold that against her?

Her heels dig into the dust of the street as she finds the shipyard. She's seen it before, several times. It isn't a rare occasion for the men she attracts to bring her back to their ships for the night. But she's a bit taken aback by the size of the ship sitting toward the back by itself.

It isn't the measly little transport vehicles meant for close planetary travel. The gangway is lowered and the lights are on, illuminating the gravel and dirt of the shipyard. Sera takes a slow step toward it and pinches the inside of her lip between her teeth. For a brief moment, she sees herself outside of her body, as if she's watching a hologram version of herself.

It doesn't seem real that she's actually this close to leaving Cress. She reaches across herself and pinches the inside of her other arm, just to make sure she hasn't been dreaming this whole time. When she doesn't wake up in her sad, little rented room above the cantina, she lets out a shaking breath and closes the distance between her and the bounty hunter's ship.

She can hear his boots stepping on the metal floor up the ramp and she stands awkwardly beneath the ship, staring up into the lights. Toward the right, she can see a mesh curtain blocking off a cargo area and on the other side of the opening, a strip of dark fabric catches her eye. The Mandalorian steps off a ladder and seems surprised to see her standing at the bottom of the ramp.

For a brief moment, he stares down at her and looks around, as if he's waiting for someone else. She does the same and clears her throat. "The deal is still on, isn't it?"

"You're going to need to change clothes."

Sera blinks in surprise. "What? Why?"

The Mandalorian doesn't answer her and turns on his heel, disappearing further into the parts of his ship she can't see. Frowning, Sera crosses her arms over her chest and glances around the shipyard. A man is snoring, propped up against the landing gear of his own vehicle and aside from him, there's no one else.

Pursing her lips, she stomps up the ramp and ducks inside the ship. The lights are dim, but she's able to see enough and finds the bounty hunter standing in front of a small area wedged into the corner of the cargo space. His back is to her and he doesn't turn to look at her as she moves further inside.

There's a strange smell to the ship--fuel and stale water--and Sera wrinkles her nose. She quickly wipes any disgust from her face as the bounty hunter turns around with a small bundle in his hands. In two steps he's in front of her and she has to stop herself from taking a small step away from him. In the narrow width of his ship, he seems taller, more intimidating.

Is it safe to trust a man she's only known for two hours?

She looks around and wonders where he was keeping his bounty. The last thing she wanted was to spend an indeterminate amount of time hearing someone like Leo Codnor calling her every derogative name under the sky.

The Mandalorian holds out the bundle for her and she stares down at the grey, canvas fabric. Slowly, she takes it and looks up at the T-shape of his visor. "What is this?"

"A flight suit. It'll be big, but it's better than nothing."

He turns away from her and heads toward the ladder. Instead of climbing in, he punches his finger into a panel beside it, and the mechanics of the ramp hiss loudly. Sera jumps in surprise and her hands tighten around the clothes he's handed her. She looks from it back to him and frowns.

"What's wrong with _my_ clothes?"

"Space is cold," he says simply, casting a single glance over his shoulder before he steps onto the ladder. He disappears a moment later and she blinks.

She wonders if he's giving her privacy to dress and she shakes her head, looking around her surroundings. There's a small table with two chairs wedged into the corner and she drops her bag onto it before glancing once more up into the hole he disappeared. She can hear him moving around, clicking and flipping switches. There's a faint lull of the engines and she sets the flight suit he gave her down onto the table.

She kicks her sandals off, glances a final time toward the ladder to make sure he isn't sneaking a peek and reaches back to untie the strings of her shirt. It's a flimsy piece of fabric, barely enough to cover her breasts, and it falls away easily. Next comes her skirt and she sighs as she stuffs it into her bag.

Not even on his ship for ten minutes and she's already naked.

Sera rolls her eyes at herself and shakes the flight suit out. It's bigger in the length than anything else and she wiggles it up her hips before zipping it up to her chest. She pulls her hair free and bends down to roll the pants legs up to her ankles so she isn't tripping on them.

Without giving her a warning, the Mandalorian is making his way back down the ladder, his steps clanging loudly on the metal rungs. She stands and shakes the hair from her face as he turns and brushes past her.

Sera blinks and crosses her arms over her chest. It's a good thing she didn't wait to change clothes. She can tell he isn't used to having anyone else in his ship and she wonders just how often he even spoke to another person. Judging by his manners, it can't be too often.

"Um," she starts, turning to where he's securing a cabinet shut with a twist of the lock. When he steps back, he doesn't look at her. "So..."

He finally stops and turns his head toward her. It's strange how awkward he looks as if he has no idea how to deal with her and she can't help but laugh. He shifts on his feet and faces her with his body and she purses her lips to stop her giggles.

"Do you need help with anything?"

"No." He steps away from her and she swallows, hoping she hasn't offended him by laughing. She hurries up behind him as he moves toward the ladder.

"I'm not laughing at you. I just don't want to be useless."

"You'll need to strap in." And with that, he takes to the ladder once more and she's left behind to stare up at him. From beneath his cloak, she catches herself watching his backside and she blinks her attention away. Once he's on the top floor again, he looks down at her. "Up here."

"Oh."

She doesn't know why she's surprised, but she takes hold of the ladder anyway. The rungs are cold beneath her feet and she wonders if she should bring something to cover herself with if space is as cold as he says. She decides against it and follows him up into a narrow opening that leads to the cockpit.

There isn't much space and he's already sitting in the pilot's chair in the center of the area. To the left and right are two seats with straps and Sera assumes this is where she's supposed to strap in. She moves quietly to the left and takes a seat on the red cushion.

As he works, she remains silent and just watches him. He moves as if this is second nature to him. The switches flip, toggles are moved, and inside the bowels of the ship, the engines and thrusters come to life. The entire thing rattles and Sera grips the edge of her seat so tightly, her knuckles turn white.

She isn't used to this kind of noise, or the vibrations rumbling through the seat. Her throat is tight, clenched around the words she feels the need to say. _Wait, stop, let me get off the ship!_ She thinks them but refuses to say them out loud.

There's security and safety in never venturing too far from where she's comfortable. Even spending the past few years wandering around from one village to the next, she never felt as if she were too far out of her comfort zone. But this...

The Mandalorian reaches above him and pushes three fingers into a series of buttons and used his other hand to push a lever forward. The ship rattles once more and out of the front window, Sera sees the ground start to fall away. Beneath them, there's a groan of metal and a deep thump from somewhere inside the ship.

The words press harder into her throat and she reaches up to slap her hands over her mouth to keep them down. This is what she wanted. This is what she's been waiting for for the past three years. Even though she's terrified of what the future will bring, she knows it has to be better than the past.

As the ship is steered upward and there's nothing but the whisp of clouds and dark, violet sky stretching in front of them, Sera lets out a quick, shriek of laughter from behind her hands. It doesn't feel real and she's shaking.

Up and up, the ship climbs and with each breath she takes, she lets go of another part of her life. No more shame, no more lonely nights, no more luring men into her room to service them for a handful of coins. This is the start of her life and no matter how terrified she is, she's ready for it.

They break through the atmosphere, with the clouds parting around the nose of the ship and then nothing but black stretches into infinity. Sera's eyes are wide and she holds her breath, waiting for something though she isn't sure what.

In the corner of her eye, she can see the bounty hunter pressing more switches but she can't look away from the expanse of the galaxy in the window. When he speaks, she starts and blinks at the back of his helmet.

"We'll be jumping into hyperdrive in a few minutes."

Her breath leaves her in a sudden rush and she darts her eyes back to the window. Sera's heart pounds and she lowers her hands to her chest, pressing against her flesh to feel the beat. "Is it...dangerous?"

The metal helmet catches the lights from the panel over his head and Sera shifts her gaze to meet the strip across his visor where she assumes his eyes are. For a moment, they stare at one another and she isn't sure if he heard her or not. He turns back around before she can repeat herself and moves his hand toward the panel in front of him.

"Hold on," he says, his tone carrying a bit of humor to it. Sera does as he says and drops her hands back to the seat beneath her, holding on tightly. He pushes a lever forward and for a moment, for just a single beat of her heart, she waits.

The ship's engines and drives rumble deeper and then the stars melt into a kaleidoscope of white light. She's forced back into the seat from the jump and she can hardly breathe as she watches the galaxy warp around the ship. Everything turns blue in an instant and tunnels around the ship like a never-ending cloud.

She's stunned into silence, which doesn't happen often for her and she can only stare in wide-eyed wonder. Faintly, she's aware that the Mandalorian is flipping switches and is unfastening the belt around his waist, but she can't look away from the window. Until she realizes she can have a better view from where he sits.

Her hands move to the belt in a flash and she unbuckles it, standing to her feet at the same time he does. She doesn't notice him tense at her sudden movement and she reaches for the back of his seat, pressing her stomach against it. "I've never seen anything like this," she whispers, craning her head back to look up through the top-most portion of the window.

Blue, black, and white surrounds the ship and flies past so quickly she can't make out anything--if there's anything to make out. Her tongue darts out to wet her lips and she can't hold back the laughter bubbling through her throat. It's a strange reaction, but she has to get the excitement and wonder out of her somehow. There's hardly any room left within her.

"I'm sorry," she says, whirling around to face the heavily armored man beside her. He's still facing her, still just as tense and silent as ever, and she pushes a shaky hand over the braids in her hair. "You must think I'm such a backwater hick--" before he can respond, she shakes her head. "--But I'm not. I just...I never thought it could be this beautiful."

With that, she turns back to face the window and places her hands back on the curve of the pilot's seat. She can't get enough of the beauty and she wonders how long he will let her stand here, staring and watching the galaxy race past them. As she keeps her gaze on the window, she can feel his starting to pierce through her and it makes the hair on the back of her arms stand up.

Slowly, Sera turns to look at him from over her shoulder and he's in the same spot, still staring at her as if he has no idea what to do with her. Warmth creeps up her face and she ducks her head with a soft chuckle.

Before she can apologize for being as simple and ignorant as the people on Cress she despises, the Mandalorian tilts his helmet to the side. "It's going to take a while before we get to Nevarro. You can rest in the cargo area."

"Is that where you're dropping me? Nevarro?"

He doesn't respond right away and she turns to face him fully. "It's as good a place as any other. You can find work."

Sera's eyebrows raise and she wants to ask him if he means she can find work as a whore, but she keeps quiet. She isn't ashamed of the things she's done to stay safe and alive in a world that sees her as something less than a human. But she'd be lying if she said she wanted something _more_.

With a nod, she sniffs and gestures to the opening in the floor leading down into the cargo area. "Well, if you need me, I'll be down below." She steps around him and turns to face him before she descends the ladder. "But, can I ask one small favor?"

" _Another_ favor, you mean."

"It isn't a favor if I'm paying you, and I _will_ pay you." He doesn't respond, which isn't surprising and Sera rolls her eyes before continuing. "Can I watch when we come out of hyperdrive?"

He stares at her and she knows it's a ridiculous request. Something as mundane as that shouldn't impress her so much, but she wants to experience everything she can and once she gets to Nevarro, it might be just as difficult getting off that planet as it was getting away from Cress.

With a small sigh, barely heard outside of his helmet, the bounty hunter nods and turns his back to her, reaching for a small tray and computer panel built into the wall. Whether he was actually doing something or just avoiding her, she wasn't sure, but the corner of her lips lift into a smile anyway as she steps onto the ladder and climbs down.

She lands on her bare feet and looks up above, listening for any sound that he's moving around or doing _something_. When there's nothing but silence, she purses her lips to keep from giggling and finds her way to the table where her bag is still sitting.

What a strange person this Mandalorian is...and while she knows there's no way of ever knowing, she suspects that he's quite cute beneath that helmet and endless layers of armor.

* * *


	5. The Touch

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.

* * *

It's too quiet. Even with the kid cooing and babbling in his makeshift seat, the Razor Crest is still too quiet and it's making Din nervous. He's been trying to make things easier for Sera but keeping the kid up in the cockpit, quiet and occupied is difficult. He isn't sure how much longer he can distract him with shiny objects he finds around the ship.

For now, thankfully, the kid is satisfied with the metal ball that had first caught his eye so many weeks ago. He coos and rolls it back and forth over the edge of the seat and Din looks from him to the opening in the floor leading down into the cargo area.

He isn't sure how long it's been since that first night, but no more than a few days, and she hasn't spoken a word since. Mostly, she sleeps, and he lets her. After what she's been through, he knows she needs it.

Occasionally, he will hear her move from her cot to the refresher, but she never speaks to him and if she's noticed that there's an extra member of the crew this time around or not, he doesn't know. He's doing his best not to bother her but it's bothering him.

He reaches for his helmet and glances to the kid out of habit. He isn't used to being barefaced around anyone, nor is he quite used to his new clan. Din hooks his thumbs beneath the beskar and lifts it up and over until he sets it in his lap. Like the curious child that he is, two large, dark eyes stare up at him and the Mandalorian lets the corner of his mouth lift into a smile.

Apparently, the kid isn't used to seeing him without a helmet either.

"You don't need to remind me that I'm ugly," he says playfully, reaching over to stroke the edge of the kid's ear with his fingers. "I'm well aware."

He gets only a giggle in return before he returns back to playing with the ball. With a sigh, the bounty hunter scrubs his palm across his face and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. What a fine situation he's found himself in--again.

Surely, he'll learn his lesson one of these days and stop taking in strays. Even as he thinks it, he winces and knows that things aren't that black and white. Both Sera and the kid were different--they _are_ different. When he met her months ago, she was young and naive and he almost pitied her. Somehow, she grew on him more and more until out of nowhere, he cared about her. The time that they spent together was the first time he thought that maybe he could have more than this life.

But then she left and he was alone until--

"Ah!" The metal ball rolls out of the kid's hand and pings loudly against the floor, jerking Din from his thoughts. He leans over in his seat and grabs the ball before it can make any more noise before he sits back and scowls at the kid. His hands are flexing greedily as the Mandalorian gives his toy back to him.

"Let's try to keep quiet, alright?"

With another quiet babble, the kid seems to either understand Din's suggestion or is too preoccupied with his toy to care. Either way, the bounty hunter stands to his feet and walks to the opening leading to the cargo hold. It's dark, with the lights that are usually on dimmed to give Sera comfort.

He stands there, not sure if he should check on her or not. On one hand, he knows she wants to be alone, but on the other...he can't stand knowing she's hurt. And not just physically. She had insisted that she was fine the first night on the ship. At first, he had believed her. Now that more and more time passes, he isn't sure if she's lying to him.

All she does is sleep.

Is that normal?

Behind him, the kid starts banging the metal ball against the side of the control panel and he whirls around to snatch him by the hand. He shrieks in protest and Din sighs, lifting his face to the ceiling while holding the ball out for the kid to take it back.

He sits down once more and rakes a hand through his hair, scratching at the back of his head as he leans back. There he sits for a long while, just staring, still confused about what to do. Across from him, he can see the opening down to the lower level on his right and the kid on his left. The dark eyes that are usually watching him closely are drooping lower and he lets out a yawn that nearly makes him fall back in his seat.

It's clear that the kid will be out in no time and Din waits until he hears the soft snores coming from him. Once he's sure that he's asleep, he stands and leans over the makeshift pram to peer down into the little, green face. And that's when he hears something else, something that makes his heart leap into his throat.

Din whips his head toward the ladder and holds his breath in waiting. There's no mistaking the sound he heard. It's soft, barely a noise at all, but he recognizes it immediately. It's the same as it always is.

She's crying.

Regret and guilt are heavy as they sink through him and he wants to sit back down and let her cry. But he's done that for the past few days and he can't let her do this until she starves to death.

He clenches his jaw tightly and snatches his helmet from the panel where he had set it down. He's halfway to the ladder when he pulls it on and his boots tap with a slight echo on each rung as he lowers himself down into the cargo hold.

The cot he had pulled out for her is where it's been since she came back and she's laying on her side, facing away from him. Her hands are swiping quickly at her cheeks and he hesitates for just a moment before he crosses the room. She doesn't look up at him, though he knows she's heard him move toward her.

With one hand gently touching her bare shoulder to let her know he's there, Din leans over her and slips his other arm beneath the bend of her legs. She gasps and her hands are quick to push him away.

"What are you doing?" Her voice is raspy and barely a whisper and he swallows tightly before looking down at her.

"I'm getting you up." He doesn't wait for her protests and lifts her out of the cot. Sera sucks in a breath once more, a sound he's heard before and one he once dreamed about hearing, but he knows now isn't the time to think about that.

Instead, he turns her toward the refresher and ignores her attempts to push against the armor of his chest. She's far too weak to do anything more than that.

He knows he's overstepping his boundaries and that normally, she would give him quite an earful, but at the moment, he doesn't care. He turns past the toilet to where a small standing area is situated where he showers. It's barely enough room for one person and now that there are two, he has trouble maneuvering her around.

Eventually, he sets her down on her feet and receives a weak smack across his helmet that hurt her more than it did him. He scowls, though it's nice to see a small glimmer of who she once was, and stares at her through the visor. Her brows are pinched and she hisses in pain as she holds her hand to her chest. When she looks up at him, she's glaring and he steps back toward the toilet.

"You need a shower."

Her eyes cut away from him and she purses her lips to keep her chin from quivering. For a moment, they stand there in the cramped space, and Din is sure that he's going to have to turn the water on for her. Not just because she can't see but because she's refusing to move.

He reaches for the dial on the wall and blinks in surprise by her hands suddenly gripping his wrist. He lets her pull him away from the controls and turns to look down at her.

"I'll do it. I just--" her voice catches and she sniffs. "I just don't want to be naked in front of you."

In an instant, his eyes drop from her face to her chest, but she had pulled on the same flight suit he had provided for her months ago and he couldn't see a spare inch of her skin beneath her throat. But on the strip of flesh around her neck, he notices the faint, fading signs of bruises and his stomach drops.

"If you're hurt--"

"Mando, please." The pain in her voice cuts through him and though he doesn't want to, he turns away. He keeps his back to her but doesn't shut the refresher door, just in case she needs him quickly.

He can hear the slow, quiet shuffle of fabric and a moment later, the flight suit lands on the floor behind his boots. There's a moment of fumbling, with her hands passing over the walls, but it's not long before the water sprays out. Again, he hears her suck in a breath and he swallows down the intrusive thoughts that keep threatening.

Now is not the time to think about that kind of thing. It had gotten him into enough trouble the first time around.

Mando shifts from side to side as he waits and listens to the occasional heavy drop of water on the floor. No more gasps--no more sounds from her. She showers quietly and he stands and waits until steam starts to snake around his ankles. He can feel the warmth snaking up in the space between his helmet and his neck and it makes him shiver.

His lips are dry and he darts his tongue out to wet them. All too suddenly, memories he's spent months trying to bury come flaring back to life and he clenches his jaw to stop them. It doesn't help.

They're there behind his eyes and he can see Sera the way she used to be. Long, dark hair sticking to her bare back in wet tendrils, her braids brushed out for once. She's not so thin as she is now, her cheeks and shoulders are freckled from being outside and he's powerless to stop his gaze from lowering down the length of her naked body. It was wrong for him to watch her then and he still feels the guilt from it now.

Din shuts his eyes just as the shower behind him is turned off and his entire body tenses as if he's afraid she can read his thoughts.

"I need a towel," comes her quiet, whispered voice and it echoes inside his head. He reaches toward the compartment next to the refresher door and snatches a nearly threadbare towel from inside. He passes it back to her without turning around and after a moment of fumbling, he feels her fingers pass over the back of his hand.

She takes it from him and he turns just enough to see her out of the small slit in his helmet and the corner of his eye. The towel--which was once white and is now a dingy, grey--is wrapped around her chest and tucked beneath her arm. She rings her hair out, her face pinched with a frown as if it's a struggle just to move.

Seeing her so frail and broken makes the panic return and he's turning toward her before he can stop himself. The urge--the _need_ to reach for her is nearly too strong to resist but he does. Sera tilts her head up and looks in his direction. There's a small smile in the corner of her lips and Din finds himself returning it, even though she can't see it.

To his surprise, she holds out her hand, searching for him and she finds the hard plate of the beskar on his shoulder. She shakes her head and steps around the toilet with his help. "Still covering every inch of yourself." Her fingers curl into fists and she taps her knuckles against the beskar. "You haven't changed much."

"No," he says quietly, steering her back toward her cot. "I don't suppose I have." He expects her to sit down again but she doesn't and he turns to face her once more, a frown pinching his brows as he does. "What's wrong?"

"I'm hungry."

Relief washes over him and he nods, wasting no time. He's across the room in three steps and opens one of the cabinets with a quick push of the buttons. They're running low on rations and he was planning to make a stop soon anyway to refill his supplies. He takes two packs out and shuts the doors behind him.

When he turns around, he finds Sera sitting at the table with the towel still wrapped around her chest and his eyes betray him. They slip low, taking in the state of her bare legs and feet. There are cuts and bruises marking her toes and around her ankles where a cuff had been clamped.

His steps are slow as he walks back to the table and he sets the packet of rations down beside her. She reaches for one while he takes the other and they rip the vacuum seal at the same time. Hers is some sort of granola with infused nutrients. They taste awful, but they keep him alive.

She's bringing it to her lip without even asking him what it is and he steps away to retrieve her some water to drink. When he returns, she's taken the pack he opened and dips her fingers inside. It's a small loaf of bread with sprinkles of herbs around the crust and Mando smiles as he sits across from her.

"Here's some water," he says and she nods. "I know the food isn't very good. I plan to restock my supplies soon."

"It's the best thing I've had in months." There's a sadness in her voice, one that he can feel piercing his chest, and he closes his eyes. "They didn't feed me much."

_They_...

The slavers. The ones that took the girl he knew and tore her apart until she was someone else entirely. He wishes he had stayed behind and killed every last one of them.

"I'm sorry." It's all he knows to say. It isn't enough.

She finds the cup and brings it to her mouth, sipping slowly but not stopping until it was empty. The cup lands on the table as she catches her breath and hiccups. Her hand presses against her chest and she scoffs.

"I don't think my belly is used to being this full." Humor touches her words but the look on her face doesn't match. She frowns and ducks her head. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me."

"Yes, I do." Sera looks at him and he can't bring himself to look into her eyes. They're too different--a reminder of what he let happen. He misses the spark and the warmth she once had behind her gaze. "You're always rescuing me."

He doesn't know what to say so he doesn't say anything and she doesn't seem to mind. They sit together in the quiet, with nothing but the constant, low rumble of the ship's engine. Mando brings his gaze back to her and studies the bruises around her throat.

There's a band of yellow and fading purple where the chain had been pulled tight around her neck and along her collar bone was dotted with marks. Her arms didn't seem to bad and he forced himself not to notice how short the towel was on her hips or how in some parts of the fabric, he could see right through to her skin.

Instead, he focuses on her feet and ankles. It's easy to see she had been forced to go barefoot for some time and the wounds make him wince. With only a moment's hesitation, Mando leans forward and clears his throat.

"I can take a look at the wounds on your feet if you want."

"Do they look bad?"

"A few. Do they hurt?"

The slow nod of her head is enough to make him purse his lips and he slowly pulls his chair closer to hers. Her knees are between his and he isn't sure if he should reach for her ankle or if he should wait for her. He looks up at her face through the visor of his helmet and allows himself to actually _look_ at her eyes.

The corners are a bit swollen from her crying but there are raised lines of scars that trail across her eyelids from whatever they had done to blind her. It makes the hatred for those animals bubble up inside him, hot and thick, and he clenches his fists at his sides.

Slowly, Sera slides back in her chair and lifts her left foot to drape across his knees. There is a scar on her shin that looks like a bad carpet burn and he knows enough of the slavers to know it's from a laser. They have a plethora of torture devices and he has to bite his tongue to keep from asking her about it.

Across the top of her foot, she has a cut that looks deeper now that he's seeing it up close and he traces the edge of it with his gloved thumb. She jerks out of his touch and he whips his head up to make sure she's not in pain. Her bottom lip is pinched between her teeth and Mando's hands drop from her foot.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt--"

"No, it's fine," she says with a small smile. It's the first one in days that feels genuine. "Your glove just kind of tickles."

"Oh."

His face is warm beneath his helmet and he swallows the sudden tension that arises in the back of his throat. Against his better judgment, he pulls at the fingers on his right glove until it slips away from his hand. He drops it onto the table and looks back down at her foot in his lap. The sudden nervousness was something he doesn't expect and he glances quickly to his glove. Should he slip it back on?

Touching someone skin to skin is--is it forbidden? He can't remember. It's been so long since he's actually felt someone else's body on his that his head is cloudy with confusion and something that stirs beneath the surface--something he's forced himself not to acknowledge.

Gently, he places his hand back over the warm skin of her foot and he's surprised by how soft it is. He expects the same rough touch on his hands and he wets his lips once more as he repeats the same motion from before, with his thumb. This time, Sera doesn't jerk away or say anything. She lets him touch her and he inspects each cut and bruise until he's moving to the inside of her ankle.

There's a deeper bruise, more recent than the other ones, and it's mottled with purple and green right over the bone. His fingers brush over it and Sera winces, the muscles in her legs tensing from the touch.

"This one looks bad," he finds himself saying, though his voice is barely over a whisper. He clears his throat and carefully picks her leg up. He stands from the seat and sets her foot down in it before stepping away. "I'm going to wrap it, just in case."

Somewhere in the mess of storage, he knows there are some forgotten strips of fabric that he uses for makeshift bandages. Just beneath an extra flight suit and a pair of socks, he finds them and pulls the ball of fabric strips from the shelf. When he turns back, he finds her sitting exactly as he left her.

Her hands are folded in her lap and she's staring down at the chair in front of her. Mando doesn't sit down this time. He kneels beside her foot and slips the bandage strip beneath her ankle. He slowly wraps it around and around, positioning it around her heel and the arch of her foot as well. As he ties off the end, Sera sniffs, pulling his attention up to her face.

She isn't crying, thankfully, but he can tell she's back to the same sadness from before. He shifts on his knees and places his bare hand on her shin. Before he can ask her what's wrong, the sound of her quiet voice silences him.

"Why are you so good to me?"

The question stuns him too much to respond and his hand slowly slips away from her. A thousand reasons pop up into his head and he can't pick a single one to tell her. None of them sound right and so he stays quiet--about that at least.

Din stands from the floor and she follows him with her milky, white gaze. He reaches for his glove, slips it on, and opens his mouth to tell her he'll take care of her other foot. Once again, he's cut off but not by her voice this time.

From up above them in the cockpit, there's a small shriek followed by the tell-tale whine that lets Mando know that the kid is awake and not in a good mood. He sighs and glances toward the ladder leading up to the top deck. Now would be as good a time as any to introduce the two of them and he turns to face Sera.

She tilts her head to the side, listening to the sounds with a frown of confusion across her brows. "What's that?"

"That...is a kid. _My_ kid, apparently."

He moves toward the ladder and puts one foot on the rung when Sera is on her feet as soon as the words register in her head. Mando braces himself for the reaction and hesitates before heading up to the cockpit. With a glance over his shoulder, he finds her staring after him, her jaw hanging open in surprise.

"You have a _kid_?"

* * *


	6. The Slaver

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are we enjoying the Mandalorian season 2?

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It doesn't take long for Sera to learn a few things about traveling through the galaxy. The Mandalorian had been right about one thing. Space is cold and she's thankful that he had an extra jumpsuit for her to wear. If she was forced to wear the clothes she brought with her, she'd have already frozen halfway to death.

A few times she woke from a nap to find her toes and fingers so cold she could barely move them. She had wondered whether or not to ask her new companion if he had any heat in this ship, but decided it was best not to bother him.

He seemed to be treating her as if she were another piece of cargo he was hauling and not a person who could carry on conversations with. In addition to what she was learning about traveling the galaxy, she found he was not very friendly. Or maybe she's being too harsh. It's not that he's unfriendly. He's just very clearly not used to having anyone else around to carry on a conversation with.

Which is making their time together full of awkward silences that stretch on and on no matter how many times Sera tries to get him to communicate. His only responses are short answers, maybe a nod, or a tilt of his helmet that seems to say more than his words do. But his lack of communication skills doesn't deter her from trying and currently, the two sit at the lone table in the cargo area together.

She finishes her meal of dried meats and a piece of bread that's on the verge of going stale while the Mandalorian focuses on the one task he's been doing the past hour. The large, bizarre rifle that he carries on his back is laid out on the table and while Sera sits back in the chair with the last bite of her bread, she watches him clean between the metal grooves with a ragged cloth. He doesn't look at her or speak; something she's already grown used to.

Space, in addition to being cold and enormously big, is also boring. Even though they're traveling through hyperspace at speeds she could never fathom, the trip is long. He had warned her the first few hours that it would take several days but she never expected this.

If she isn't sitting at the table, drumming her fingers or watching him move about, she tries to nap but it's grown as stale as the bread. She wants and needs something to pass the time and the only thing available to her is trying--again--to strike up a conversation with the bounty hunter that is still ignoring her presence.

Swallowing the last bite of bread, Sera dusts her hands off on the side of her legs and leans forward once more. She drops her elbows onto the table and lets her left hand fall to the rifle that sits between her and the bounty hunter. The end of the weapon with the two prongs points toward the ladder, and just as she's nearly touched her middle finger to it, a large, gloved hand snatches her by the wrist.

In an instant, her eyes flicker up to meet the visor of his helmet and she frowns, not yet pulling her hand out of his grip. She blinks and arches her eyebrow. "What? You don't let anyone else touch your toys?"

If he detects the playful tone in her voice, he makes no mention of it and simply drops her hand back onto the table. "Only if you want to get electrocuted." Sera can't help her eyes going a bit wide at his words and she watches him pull the rifle closer to his side of the table. "It delivers a shock. Could potentially knock you out."

"Oh." She sits back and lets her hand slide back toward her. "Well, thank you for stopping me. Is it difficult to use?"

"No."

It's immediately clear to her that she won't be getting much else in the way of words from him. He's already back to cleaning into the tiny nooks and crannies of the rifle and Sera drums her fingernails across the table with a scowl. Across the cargo hold, the cabinet where the remainder of his weapons were stashed sat, doors open and the light overhead shining down on the plethora of gadgets.

Sera tilts her head and cuts her eyes back to the Mandalorian across from her. His head is bent low and as he wedges the rag against the rifle butt, she stands from her chair and crosses the area. The light isn't as bright as it probably once was but she can see his weapons all laid out neatly inside the cabinet.

On the back wall are blasters of every shape. Several with long barrels and one with a short, stubby one. On each door, there are about three guns, all of which Sera has no idea how to use. Women didn't exactly carry weapons where she comes from.

Out of the corner of her eye, she notices the figure at the table had gone quite still and she turns to see the bounty hunter's helmet pointing right at her. He's no longer cleaning his rifle and she sighs, lifting her arms to cross them over her chest.

"You don't have to look at me like that. I'm not going to steal a blaster and hold you hostage, or anything."

He makes a noise in the back of his throat and while it's muffled by his helmet, Sera almost swears it's a laugh. Or as close to a laugh as a man like him would ever get. Her hands drop to her hips and she turns to face him. "What?"

"I didn't say anything."

"You laughed."

"Did I?"

With a roll of her eyes, she turns back toward the cabinet, knowing he's watching her every move. She knows he'll react to her reaching into toward the weapons and as she lifts her hand, she notices him tighten his hold on his own rifle. It brings a grin to her lips and she turns her head to him so he can see it.

Even with all the layers of armor hiding every inch of him from her, she'd have to be blind not to see how tense he is. She holds up her hands in surrender and shakes her head with a chuckle. "Don't worry. I'm just a little, skug hole bumpkin. I wouldn't know what to do with a blaster even if I got my hands on it."

"Doesn't mean you won't do any damage."

At this, she laughs again and shrugs her shoulders. He has a point and she doesn't want to argue and upset him. She decides it's probably best to let him relax and she steps away from the weapon cabinet, but if he thinks he's getting out of a conversation, then he's mistaken. Before he can drop his attention back to cleaning his rifle, she speaks up.

"So, this planet you're dumping me on, you said it was Nevarro?" Sera reaches the table again and lowers herself back into her chair. The Mandalorian abandons his rag for a small stick with a cotton ball on one end. "Do you think I could find some work there?"

She watches his hands still and after a moment, he lifts his helmet to stare at her. Before he can answer, she clarifies herself. "Some  _ honest _ work."

It's not that she's above using her body to make money again, but selling herself to drunks got old on Cress. She can assume that the appeal will fade fast on any other planet as well. And judging by the bounty hunter's silence, she figures out his answer quickly. With a sigh, she taps the table and sits back in the chair.

"Figures. I guess there isn't a lot the galaxy has to offer someone like me."

He sets the cleaning stick down beside the rifle and she watches the plate across his chest rise and fall with a deep breath. "There's a man in Nevarro. He might be able to find something for you." The corner of her lips lifts in a faint smile. "When we get there, I'll talk to him."

It's strange how someone so void of emotion and so outwardly cold can have the most surprising bouts of kindness. She can feel her smile widening and she reaches across the table, placing her hand on the back of his glove. "Thank you for being so kind to me."

In a flash, he pulls his hand back and stands from the table. She knows he's uncomfortable with close contact, but she's still surprised to see him react as if she had crawled onto his lap.

"Don't worry about it," he says quietly, taking his rifle from the table and crossing the cargo area to the open cabinet.

An apology presses against the back of her throat and she swallows it down, not wanting to make him more uncomfortable than he already is with her. How could someone who hunts down dangerous criminals to make a living be so awkward and uneasy at the touch of a hand or conversation?

She wants to ask him about it, but decides not to. If apologizing to him might make him uneasy, then bringing up  _ why _ he's so bad at carrying a conversation wouldn't be such a good idea. And while their brief banter might have cured a bit of her boredom for the time being, they still had a ways to go before they faced any excitement.

Sera stands to her feet and reaches for the rag he had left behind on the table to wipe away a few crumbs she had left behind after eating. Even after the bits of bread crumbs were brushed to the floor, the table didn't seem quite clean. She spins on her heel and opens her mouth, expecting to find him busy at the cabinet with his weapons.

And that's where he's standing, but he's looking at her and she snaps her lips shut once more. Her eyes cut down to the rag and she clears her throat, ignoring the heat that touches her face at the realization that he had been watching her. "Um," she struggles to find the words, wishing her face would stop turning pink. "Do you have a bucket or something I could fill with water?"

He doesn't hesitate and crosses the room to the refresher. There's a small corner behind the vac tube where a silver sink is built into the wall and just beneath it, the Mandalorian pulls out a metal bucket with a thin wire handle. He holds it under the sprayer and fills it with a bit of water before turning back to face Sera.

She takes hold of the bucket and smiles in thanks before turning toward the table. Water lifts the smudges that had been left for far too long on the surface and she rings the dirty rag back into the bucket before lowering onto her knees.

In her time on Cress, before abandoning her family for freedom, her usual chore was scrubbing the floors of the shack she and her six siblings shared with her father. The older boys would help in the fields and would track mud through the house several times a day. And if there was ever a streak of dirt or clay she missed, her father would smack her across the face and make her clean while the rest of the family ate their dinner.

Those nights, she would go to bed hungry and spend the night crawling as quietly as she could to the pantry just to nibble on a few crackers in the dark. It was there, in the dark, trying her hardest to stay as silent as a mouse to not wake her cruel father that she realized that she hated him and hated everyone on the planet for thinking that was what life should be.

And while she swore that after leaving that god-forsaken village that she would never spend her days scrubbing floors again, she doesn't mind this time. The Mandalorian isn't forcing her to scrub the floors of his ship and she knows she doesn't have to if she doesn't want to be smacked around like her father used to do.

But it's the only thing she can think of to repay him for the kindness he's shown her. The spare credits she has to give him don't feel enough.

As she dips the rag back into the water, rings it out, and puts it to the floor, she hears the sound of his boots on the floor behind her. She sits back on her heels and glances back at him from over her shoulder, finding him standing between her and the weapon cabinet.

"You don't have to do that."

Sera blows a loose strand of hair away from her face and waves him off. "It's the least I can do and besides, it gives me something to do to pass the time. Besides," she says, glancing down to the sheets of metal making up the floor. Streaks of oil and mud and scuff marks from the Mandalorian's boots cover the surface and she scoffs. "It needs a thorough cleaning."

"I can spray it out when we get to Nevarro." His words don't convince her and again, she glances back at him with an eyebrow arched in doubt.

"You can, but  _ will _ you?"

There's that slight tilt of his helmet again as if he's struggling to figure her out. Sera isn't sure why but she likes knowing that he can't. Maybe he's too used to hardened, dangerous criminals and has forgotten what a normal person is like. Or perhaps she's not as normal as she thinks she is.

Still, the floors need to be scrubbed and since he shows no signs of getting on his hands and knees to help her, she laughs softly and wags her finger at him. "That's what I thought."

As he stands there, still staring at her like she had suddenly started speaking an alien language, Sera turns back to the floor and swipes the rag over a streak of oil. A few seconds later, she hears his boots tap against the rungs of the ladder and then silence. She glances back over her shoulder to find him gone and a grin spreads across her face.

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Landing a ship is just as rocky as the takeoff and Sera isn't exactly prepared for the bumps and trembles of the hulking metal beast. It jars her and makes her smack her head against the seat she strapped herself into. A few times, she thinks she might shriek but manages to keep her outbursts quiet.

By the time the ship is settled on the dusty planet of Nevarro, Sera is ready to be back on solid ground. Mando tells her to gather her things while he takes care of things and she doesn't ask him to elaborate on that. She's more than ready to get out of the oversized, scratchy flight suit he had loaned her.

And once she's shed it off, tossed it aside, and dressed once more in the clothes she's most comfortable in, she breathes a sigh of relief. A simple white scarf is tied around her chest and she hopes the small glimpse of the planet she'd witnessed out the windows of the Razor Crest gave her enough of an idea of the temperature of Nevarro's climate.

It  _ looked _ like it was a desert, with sand and rocks and a bright sun beating down on it. She didn't exactly plan for anything colder than the climate on Cress and she hopes her loose, linen pants are enough to keep her comfortable.

She slips her feet into her sandals and is pleased with the floor beneath them. There are a few stains too stubborn for her to lift with just a rag and water, but there's a vast improvement to the interior of the ship. Or the floor at least. The rest of the cargo area is a bit worse for wear and she hopes he doesn't let it get too messy.

A strange thought pops into her head as she stands in the cargo area, waiting for the bounty hunter to finish up with whatever tasks he's doing above her. Though she's only known him for a short while, she feels she'll miss him when they eventually part ways. He isn't a bad guy and has been more than helpful to her.

Maybe it's more to do with the fact that he's quite a curiosity for her rather than the fact that she'll miss him. Their conversations had been brief, but she's still curious to know more about him and wonders if he feels the same way about her.

But that's ridiculous. He's not the type of man that she's used to. He's not interested in her. He's interested in doing his job and getting paid and she's nothing more than a momentary annoyance to him that will result in a few extra coins in his pocket.

The sound of him moving about overhead breaks her out of her thoughts and she watches him move quickly down the ladder. He's carrying a handful of bounty pucks in his hand--ones that he'll turn in for money--and she forces a small smile as he turns to face her.

He doesn't speak but she doesn't exactly expect him to as he crosses to the panel of controls near the bay doors. After punching his fingers into a few of them, the hydraulics hiss and the Mandalorian takes a step back to watch the door lower in front of them. Sera swallows and stares at the planet slowly coming into view.

A ball of knots is weighing heavily in her stomach and she presses a hand to her midsection to try and soothe them. It doesn't work and she can feel the stares from the man standing beside her.

Hesitantly, Sera looks up at him to find that tinted visor looking directly at her. She forces a small smile and waves him off before adjusting the strap of her bag up her shoulder. "I'm alright," she says more for herself than for him. "I'm just nervous. New planet, new people, you know?"

She snaps her lips shut before she starts to ramble nervously and just as she looks out toward the open door on the side of his ship, she notices just the slightest tilt of his helmet dropping lower. Again, that heat creeps up her cheeks and she gives him a second glance, narrowing her eyes.

Was he...looking at her body?

Before she can ask him, he steps down the ramp and onto the dusty ground of Nevarro. Sera catches up to him, staring at the back of his helmet with her narrowed gaze, trying to figure out what in the world just happened. There's no way a man like him, so bottled up and closed off, could be checking her out.

She must have had something on her scarf--though when she looks down at herself to check, she finds nothing but the loose fabric covering her breasts. Against her will, the corner of her lip curls and she quickly catches up to him, falling into step beside him.

With a deep breath, she looks out around the shipyard and pulls the strap of her bag closer. A few figures are standing around, looking at their equipment or getting ready to leave the planet and she finds herself unable to look away from the Mandalorian for too long.

"So, this is Nevarro, huh?"

He heads toward a small archway that acts as a gate into the town and behind the walls surrounding it, Sera can hear the sounds of a marketplace. Immediately, her nerves start to relax. It's a sound she's used to and she finds comfort in hearing it. Her relief is shortlived as the bounty hunter glances down at her and speaks.

"Keep your things close. There are pickpockets."

Ah, so it isn't different from Cress at all. Sera pushes one of her braids behind her shoulders and nods, clutching her bag tightly with her other hand. "Okay."

"And don't stare at anyone."

Her steps almost come to a stop but she catches back up and scowls up at him. "You really think I'm an idiot, don't you?"

This time, he comes to a stop just inside the walls of the town and Sera digs her heels in the dirt and whirls to face him. His shoulders drop with a sigh and he looks down at her through the visor. "I didn't mean it like that. People here aren't known for being nice. They're...easily offended."

And this is where she's starting her new life? Sera sighs and glances around. There isn't much to see aside from the outside facade of a few buildings and a scattering of people standing around--humans and other species. She turns her gaze back to him and purses her lips.

"Well, I can't say you've got me very excited to call this place my new home, but it can't be that bad."

He doesn't say anything and the longer he stands there, staring down at her, the more nervous she grows. His silence tells a lot more than his words and before she can ask him if Nevarro  _ can _ be that bad, he turns to head further into town.

Sera blinks after him and glances around. The ball of nerves has returned and she puts a hand to her midsection once more and follows him. Around the corner, the market opens up and she's able to see the multitude of species that coexist in the town. In that respect, it's a lot different than Cress.

There are creatures that are about knee-high, almost completely cloaked and Sera can't help but gaze down at them with wide eyes. They're speaking in high-pitched voices and though she can't understand the language, it's clear they're arguing with a stall vendor about whatever they're trying to sell to him.

The man behind the stall is human but has a nasty scar down the front of his face, whitening one of his eyes. He shouts something at the creatures and points away from them, telling them all to scream.

Sera stares at the short creatures as she passes and one looks up at her, blinking a pair of red eyes as it grumbles and shakes a fist at her. An apology is on her lips but she has no time to utter a syllable. A hand grips her by the elbow and pulls her away from the scene, spinning her until she nearly collides with the slightly dented armor on the Mandalorian's chest.

She tilts her head back and peers up at his helmet. "I told you not to stare."

"I wasn't! I just...didn't expect to see--" she looks back to where the group of short, cloaked figures are scurrying off. "--whatever they were."

"Jawas," the bounty hunter explains with a small sigh, dropping her elbow as he turns away from the central alley of the market. He leads her down a small side street and there are still some stalls set up, but not as many. "They can be bastards, so watch out for them."

"Great."

So far, she was learning everything she wasn't supposed to do or who not to be friends with. When was she supposed to figure out how to reach the next step in her life? At least Nevarro seemed different from Cress in one respect.

The women on this planet weren't hidden away and forced to be submissive mice--never seen and never heard. Several shopkeepers were women, shouting and handling money, laughing with the traders, and swearing just as much as the men. It was like a breath of fresh air in the otherwise stale, dry climate that carried a slight scent of foreign body odor.

A small table is set up, selling a variety of fabrics. None seem to be fashionable or anything aside from durable, long-lasting strips of canvas, but Sera reaches out and touches one of the lighter colored folds. The woman behind the table turns away from one of the traders and lifts her head to Sera.

"See anything you like?"

"Oh, no, I'm just--"

"Well, move aside for paying customers, then!"

Sera stumbles back as a male Twi-lek pushes against her shoulder and lays down a handful of credits. The two of them barter for a moment and from behind her, Sera hears the familiar sound of the Mandalorian clearing his throat. Ignoring the rush of heat to her face that burns to the tips of her ears, she adjusts the strap of her bag and turns to face the bounty hunter.

Though she has absolutely no way of knowing, she suspects he's smiling behind his helmet in a very 'I told you so' manner and she lifts her chin a bit higher in defiance. He waits until she's beside him once more and turns toward a smaller, narrow alleyway.

Here, there are no stalls but crates line the streets and she can hear laughter and music drifting out from one of the buildings. Oddly, it's exactly where he leads her. Sera is surprised by the crowd that lingers inside the doorway that the Mandalorian ducks into and she stands on the top step, blinking in surprise.

The noise is raucous and annoying and from over the shouts and laughter, there's music playing that instantly grates on her nerves. She pulls her bag closer and hurries to step aside as a brute of a Devaronian stomps toward the door. He grunts as he steps around her and she watches the tips of his horns brush the underside of the door frame as he leaves.

Still in surprise at where the otherwise soft-spoken, quiet Mandalorian has taken her, Sera turns to make her way further inside and nearly collides with the back of him. He's stopped at the bottom of the stairs and she puts her hands out to brace herself against his back. He doesn't react and she peers around him.

"What's wrong? Why did we stop--"

"Mando!" A loud, friendly voice calls from over the noise, making Sera whip her head up. Across the room of the bar, a man is rising from his seat and lifting a hand to wave at them. Well, at the Mandalorian anyway.

He stands beside a half-circle of a table with a bench seat that curves all the way around and he isn't alone. Sera follows her companion across the room and steps beside him as they come to a stop in front of the table. The man who had called to him was smiling and lowering himself back into the bench. His eyes are kind and aged, with wrinkles at the corners that carry a mischievous spark to them.

Sera blinks up at the stoic Mandalorian beside her. Somehow, he's colder now and she can almost feel the tension radiating off him in waves.

"Mando," the man says again in his deep voice. "I certainly don't remember giving you a bounty for a lovely young woman."

Ah, there was that mischief she suspected. She forces a smile that she hopes seems friendly and can't help glancing at the other man at the table--the one that her Mandalorian friend hasn't stopped staring at since they stepped up to the table.

This man is younger than the other one and has his arms slung over the back of the booth in a relaxed manner that was purposefully crafted. Sera has seen his type before. They were a dime a dozen on the ports of Cress. Moderately handsome men that think they can bed any woman just because they have a crooked smirk and a confident twinkle in their eye.

Usually, Sera could make a good night's pay with those kinds of men but this one...there was something about him that doesn't sit well with her.

At her side, the bounty hunter sighs, pulling her attention away from the man staring at her. "I can come back if you're busy."

"Nonsense," the older man says loudly, waving him off. "The more the merrier."

At the back of the booth, the other man laughs and drops one hand to the seat beside him, patting it gently. "You can slide in next to me." As her eyebrow arches and she shifts on her feet, the man gives her one of those crooked smiles that rubs her the wrong way. "I don't bite."

The music is suddenly too loud for her to hear for sure, but she's almost certain that the Mandalorian grumbles a curse word beneath his breath. She glances at the two men seated at the table and knows it would be rude to refuse their offer. And as skeevy as this guy seems, he could be the one who could help her find work.

Sera lowers herself to the seat and slides around to the curve where the man is sitting. He's got longer hair than the other one, tied halfway back behind his head. There are two braids hanging from his temples and she notices his button-up shirt is left open down to his navel, giving her a view of the hair on his chest.

She almost rolls her eyes but instead, forces a polite smile at him before turning to watch the Mandalorian take a seat. He keeps himself as close to the edge as he can and the man's face across from him slips. It's almost unrecognizable but there's something there that Sera instantly notices. She's seen it before on men who would play cards and realize they were going to lose out on a lot of money.

He was nervous.

And now so was she.

The tension from moments ago spiked in the seconds it took for them to sit and the man to her right was staring at her with the smirk still. It wasn't helping her. Though his smile remains, his eyes have dropped lower to take in her body and she wishes she had kept that bulky flight suit on.

"It's always a good day when you've got a beautiful woman by your side," he says, laughing with the man across from her. "Vas Lorn."

Sera looks down at his hand and slowly slides hers into it, letting him embrace her palm. "Sera," she mumbles.

The other man introduces himself as Greef and the reassuring, confident smile he had on his face earlier returns. "Now, I know you're not from Nevarro. I'd remember a face like yours." Greef wags a finger at her and Sera shifts in the seat, glancing quickly at the Mandalorian. He's as still as a statue, with one hand on his lap and the other on the table with the bounty pucks.

Before she can respond, Vas leans forward and drops his elbows on the table, giving her a closer view of his grin. One of his teeth, the pointed one, is covered in a gold cap and she blinks at it. "Now, what's a girl like you doing with a Mandalorian?"

"He brought me here. I'm from Cress."

“Cress?” Greef laughs and reaches for the half-filled tankard in front of him. “I didn’t think anyone left that hellhole.”

“They usually don’t. I was lucky enough to find a way off, thanks to--” she turns to face Mando and smiles softly, realizing she had never called him by a name before, even if it's not exactly  _ his _ . “Thanks to Mando.” He’s not looking at her, keeping his helmet focused straight ahead at Greef. She can see his fists are clenched a bit tighter than normal and she shifts nervously on the seat. “I’m looking for work--honest work. Mando said I might find it here.”

The two men laugh and Greef sits back with the tankard in his hand. He drapes an arm across the back of the booth and from beside her, she's almost surprised to feel the warmth of Vas' hand on her knee. She doesn't let him see her reaction, knowing that's exactly what he wants from her.

Thankfully, it isn't Vas that speaks up but Greef. “There isn’t much honest work around here. Even the shopkeepers and bartenders have shady dealings.”

“I might have some work to offer you,” Vas suggests, and Sera feels the hair at the back of her neck bristle. He lifts his hand away from her and crosses his arms over his chest. As soon as he takes his hand away, she slowly and carefully slides closer to Mando. Hopefully, the smile she flashes Vas will keep him distracted so he doesn't notice how repulsed she is by him. “Now, it’s not very  _ honest _ , but it pays handsomely. Someone like you could live like a queen in my business.”

She may have been a backwater bumpkin, but she knows enough to realize that Vas means prostitution. And while she would never shame someone for using their body for work, she was trying to leave that life behind. She meets Vas' eyes and behind their twinkling, blue surface, there's so much darkness that makes her skin crawl.

This man was bad news.

“I’m trying to keep my nose clean these days. I could look elsewhere. I’m sure there’s something on this planet--” Again, the two men laugh and while she can't be too sure, she feels as if they're laughing  _ at _ her this time. It makes her jaw clench and she once again, inches closer to Mando. “Thank you for your help. I appreciate it, but if you’ll let me out, I should probably try to find my way around and see if I can--”

“Now hold on there,” Vas says, reaching out to stop her with a hand on her arm. He drops it down to her thigh and it’s too close to the inside of her legs this time. She can't help herself and scowls down at it. “Don’t brush my deal off just yet. It’s not what you think, I assure you. I’m not some seedy pimp--”

"Not what I heard."

The distorted voice coming from behind the visor of Mando's helmet surprises Sera and she blinks in surprise. Her eyes cut to Greef and he's looking at Vas with that worried look in his eyes from before. His fingers are tapping at the handle of his tankard and Sera swallows nervously.

“I don’t remember asking for your opinion, Mando.”

“Hey,” Greef finally speaks up. “Why ruin a good day with this petty mess? I thought we put all of that behind us?”

Put all of  _ what _ behind them? Sera glances between each of them and she can feel Mando shift on the seat beside her before he speaks up again. “And I thought Lorn had a bounty on his head.”

“Vas’ debts were paid.”

Sera looks at Greef then back to Mando.

"By slavers."

“Mando--”

"I should go." The spike in tension is making her start to sweat and she can feel the argument taking a more dangerous turn. She puts her hand on the table and forces a smile, leaning her knee against Mando's to let him know to let her out. When he slides to the edge, she nods to Greef and ignores Vas, though she can feel his stare on her. "This isn't any of my business and I really need to find work from someone."

She stands from the table as soon as she's able to and she peers up at the familiar shape of the helmet covering the bounty hunter's head. It feels strange leaving without telling him goodbye, but she doesn't want to stick around and see where this argument eventually leads. With a nod that she hopes carries more than she can tell him at that moment, Sera turns away from the table and hurries across the bar.

She manages to make it far enough away, but can still hear the Mandalorian asking for more bounty pucks in her absence. Business resumes as normal and she feels the stuffy air starting to suffocate her. The bar feels smaller as if all eyes are turned to her. The ball of knots in her stomach is so heavy she nearly feels sick and she rushes out of the bar.

Outside, the air isn't much better. It's humid and hot but she gulps it in any way. She manages to stumble a few steps away and leans against the wall. She puts her hands on her knees and leans over, feeling the full weight of her decisions weighing down on her.

Alone on a foreign planet, with men just as shady and corrupt as they were on Cress, she had never been so lost. At least with Cress, she was familiar with the standards. This was different and still too much of the same and she was beginning to regret leaving the only home she had ever known.

But what was irking her the most was the fact that the Mandalorian had been so different just now. He's always quiet and closed off, but this was different. She could still practically feel his disgust and hatred for Vas Lorn. And if Nevarro was a planet where men like Vas lived, she isn't sure she belongs there.

Because while her time with Mando was brief, in a strange way, she trusts his judgment. He's seen the worst of the galaxy and knows a thing or two about bad guys. If he hates someone  _ that  _ much, there's probably a good reason.

A burn pressed into the back of her eyes while her throat tightened around a knot. Was leaving Cress a mistake? Was that planet truly the best she could find out here?

Just as tears burn the back of her eyelids, she hears the gravel beside her crunch beneath someone's weight. Sera lifts her head and blinks in surprise at the sight of Mando silhouetted against the setting sun behind him. He shifts on his feet as she pushes away from the wall and swipes some loose hair away from her face.

Mando clears his throat and looks out toward the darkening alleyway. "I can take you to Tatooine. You'll have better luck there."

She can't stop her eyes from going wide and she pulls at the strap of her bag with a nod. "Okay, when can we leave?"

Mando takes a step around her and she turns to follow him, a smile stretching her mouth as he says, "Immediately."

* * *


	7. The Chase

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* * *

“What is it?”

Mando stands at the bottom level of the ship, arms crossed over his chest while he stares down at the kid sitting in Sera’s lap. There’s a look of confusion on both of their faces and the kid makes a curious sound before turning his head to look up at Mando. One of his ears brushes against Sera’s chin and she blinks in surprise before reaching carefully toward it.

Her fingers brush over the tip of his ear and her lips part. The kid looks back up at her and gurgles a response that only he can understand.

“I’m not sure. I’ve been tasked with finding others of its kind.”

“It?” Sera’s fingers are gentle when she lowers them to the kid’s arms and back. “Surely you’ve given it a name.”

If his helmet was off, he would pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh. It’s not like he hadn’t tried to think of a name in the past but he’s not cut out for this kind of thing. And besides, it’s been answering to _kid_ since the two of them met, so there’s no point in changing it now. 

With a deep breath, he drops his arms to his side and steps closer to the two of them sitting together. He kneels and reaches for the kid, scratching him behind the ear. 

“I’ve just been calling him _kid_.’

“Now it’s a him? You sure he’s a boy.”

Mando scoops the kid up out of her lap and sets him down on the floor beside her feet, handing him the metal ball he’s grown fond of. It rolls across the cargo area and the kid squeals happily as he chases after it. Once Mando’s sure he’s occupied for the time being, he looks up at Sera to find her staring down at him.

It’s strange knowing she can see nothing of him except a blur but still look at him as if she can see right through his armor. She always had a way of making him feel vulnerable despite all the layers covering his body. 

He clears his throat and moves toward a crate next to her, turning to sit on it while he leans forward to put his elbows on his knees. 

“I think so.”

“You _think_?”

He looks over at her to find her eyebrows raised and a small smile curling the corner of her lips. He shrugs even though she can’t see him. “He doesn't exactly have the same...anatomy that I'm used to."

It’s strange to hear her laugh, but he finds himself smiling behind his helmet and the urge to reach over and take her hand is almost unbearable. Mando clenches his fists to stop himself and for a long moment, they sit there in silence, watching and listening to the kid entertain himself with the cargo netting across the area from them.

When enough time passes that the silence starts to turn a bit awkward, the bounty hunter shifts on the crate and turns toward her. She’s staring down at the floor but at the sound of his movements, she tilts her head and looks at him around the corner of her hair. The wounds around her eyes are still red and hurts his heart to look at. “Listen,” he says quietly, looking down at the floor to avoid her face. "I might know a place you can stay--in Tatooine--"

Her sigh is heavy and stops any more words from coming out of his mouth. He lifts his head to look at her through his visor and she’s no longer staring at him. Her eyes are closed and the smile he had missed seeing was gone. There was nothing in its place but that distant, broken frown. 

"They'll find me there, Mando. You know that."

He knows it, but he’s not sure what else to do. The options are limited. He couldn’t bring her on this quest to find the kid’s people or more Mandalorians. It was hard enough keeping track of a tiny creature that had a knack for getting into trouble any chance it could. If something were to happen to either of them, Mando would be a wreck. 

She’s too much of a distraction for him. She has been since he first met her and now more than ever, he needs to keep all of his focus on his task. 

Shaking his head, he stands from the crate and turns to face Sera. She doesn’t lift her head or look up at him and he sighs again. “There’s another place I could take you. It’s far, but they could keep you safe. They’re good people.”

For a few moments, he stares down at her, waiting for her to respond and when she doesn’t right away, he looks over at the kid. He’s got the ball in one hand and has found an emergency ration pack that he’s gripping in the other. Crumbs cover the front of his clothes and Mando closes his eyes in exasperation. 

When he shifts on his feet and faces Sera again, he finds her face still pointed toward the floor, but she responds. 

“There are no good people, Din.” She whispers his name but he hears it echo loud in his ears. It's been so long since he's heard her say it that he almost forgot he told it to her. And the memory of the night he did starts to unfurl in his mind, driving a heat through him that he hasn’t felt in a long time. It’s all at once filling his chest to the point where he can feel sweat start to bead up along his back and he quickly pushes the thoughts away.

Now’s not the time to reminisce about the numerous mistakes he had made with Sera the first time around. Mistakes that he both regrets and longs to repeat.

He doesn't know what to say to her, still caught off guard by hearing her say his name, but he feels like staying silent is wrong. 

"There's a woman there, Omera. She could keep you safe and--"

Again, he stops mid-sentence as Sera lifts her eyes to his and despite the milky white that he knows she can’t see through, he feels her gaze cut through him like a knife. He nearly takes a step back, but keeps himself in place and stares down at her, studying her face through the tint of his visor. 

Her head tilts to the side and her eyes narrow and he knows her enough to recognize her curiosity, despite the months it's been since he’s seen her. It’s almost the same way the kid looks at him when he takes a drink from beneath his helmet. His stomach flutters and that same prickling sensation, both hot and cold at the same time tremors down his spine. It’s ridiculous and he knows it, but he can’t help it. 

Mando swallows just as the look on her face softens and she tilts her chin up higher. “Do you trust her?”

“I do.”

She takes a deep breath that he watches expand her chest before quickly pulling his gaze back to her face. “Then I trust you.”

Then it was settled. He would take her to Sorgan and hope Omera could help him--could help Sera. The planet is far enough away that he can feel confident she would be hidden well there. It would be a long trip there and back, but he knows it’s for the best. He clears his throat and takes a step back as her gaze stays glued to him. 

“I’ll need to stop to refuel and gather supplies. The kid eats more than you’d believe. Is there anything you need?”

She lifts her face to follow him as he steps away and at that moment, despite the white milky color of her eyes and the scars around them, she reminds him so much of the way she had once looked up at him while on her knees. It had been months ago but he remembers it all too well. He had taken her face in his hand and stood there, brushing his thumb over the curve of her cheek, watching through the tinted visor as she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Once again, the memories flood through his mind so suddenly he nearly turns to flee before she has a chance to answer him. 

He looks at her now and wonders if she ever thinks of that moment between them. It was a turning point. They went from acquaintances, possible casual friends, to something more that neither of them could define. Mando watches her now as her tongue slowly wets her lips. It's just a glimpse at it but he sees it and knows exactly how it feels against his own.

“Thank you,” she says quietly, but it’s enough to wrench him from his thoughts and he blinks. “But I’m fine.”

He shifts on his feet and glances back at the kid still munching on the last of the ration. Mando walks back to him at the cargo net and lifts him from the floor. The package of foil falls to the floor and instead of picking it up to throw away, he leaves it behind and turns to the ladder. 

“I’ll have to strap the kid in and I’ll come back for you.”

He climbs the ladder with one hand clutching the tiny figure at his chest and once he’s up on the top level, the kid burps with a belly full of rations. With a sigh, Mando puts him back in his usual chair behind his and buckles him in. The kid stares up at him with a satisfied smile despite the finger pointing down at him. 

“You can’t eat everything you see.”

His ears flatten and he makes a sound that might be apologetic if it weren’t for the smile still on his face, exposing the tiny row of teeth in his mouth. Dropping his finger, Mando stands up straight and sighs, glancing toward the ladder. He knows he’ll have to be alone with Sera, knows he’ll have to help her up the ladder.

They’ll touch and those memories that he’s been struggling to hold back will be much worse, more _vivid_ with her so close to him. No. He’s being ridiculous again. She’s completely hidden behind the flight suit and his hands are covered by his gloves. They wouldn’t be touching anymore than they already have.

It’s time for him to put an end to this foolishness. Whatever the two of them had at one time is clearly over and he needed to accept that. She’s still hurt, still coming to terms with what has happened to her and for him to think that things would go back to the way they were before she left is just stupid.

With the kid occupied for the time being, Mando makes his way back down to the lower level of the ship. Just as he left her, Sera is still sitting patiently and she turns to him when she hears the sound of his boots tapping on the rungs of the ladder. 

She’s on her feet, hands nervously twisting in front of her and Mando can’t stop his gaze from flickering down to them. Before the thought of feeling those fingers in his hair can pop up, he shoves it aside and moves toward her. 

“There’s a crate to your left.”

“Thanks,” she says timidly. There’s a flush to her cheeks and it’s the most color he’s seen on her face in days. It stops him a few steps from her and he wonders if she’s feeling similar to the way he is. 

He snaps himself out of it and reaches for her elbow, guiding her forward until they’re back at the ladder. Sera tucks her hair behind her ear and tilts her head back as if she’s peering up into the hole. 

“I never would have thought that climbing a ladder would be this daunting.”

“I’m right behind you.” He means it to assure her that he won’t let her fall, but the words come out in a whisper and she lowers her head, turning to the side to hear him better. The muscles along her throat tighten as she swallows and he can’t help but watch them move. 

It’s a stupid move and he knows it. Still, he doesn’t stop himself from reaching out and taking hold of her wrist in his. Her skin is bare and even through the leather of his gloves, he knows how warm she is. Gently, he puts her hand to the ladder and she grips the rung. 

He’s too close now and he knows it. He doesn’t step back and instead, watches her put a foot on the bottom step. She pulls herself up and one rung after the next, she carefully climbs up. Mando watches her crawl onto the floor above him and he follows quickly behind her. She slides out of the way and he stands first, reaching down to take her hands and pull her to her feet.

It’s dark in the small space and as she stands to her full height, her chest is pressed into his armor. Once again, she’s too close and there’s nothing he can do but stand there and succumb to the memories. They’re all still too real to him and he’s torn between knowing it would be a mistake to remake them and wanting nothing else but to relive the feeling of kissing her.

Sera’s hands slide up the beskar plate to the fabric of his cloak bunched over his shoulders and grips it enough to pull herself up onto her tiptoes. The warmth of her breath fogs the bottom of his visor and any control he has over himself crumbles. He drops his hands from her wrists to her waist and pulls her closer. 

He watches her eyes close and lips part and-- _uck_ \--he wants to kiss her again. He wants to kiss away all the time they wasted being apart. 

“Din,” she whispers. The sound of his name on her lips drives him crazy and his fingers tighten around the loose suit she’s wearing. 

Her words are cut off by the rapid beeping from the dash and Mando whips around. He blinks himself out of the daze he had been caught in and quickly pulls Sera toward the chairs. From the other one, the kid makes a sound of curious surprise and watches Mando drop down into his chair.

The light on the dash is still blinking and the beep of the alarm continues until he flips a switch. On the radar, two red blips are approaching-- _fast_.

"Shit," he snaps, turning his head toward Sera. "Sit and strap in."

She quickly stumbles to the chair and he notices her hands are shaking as she grabs for the straps on either side of her lap. Once he's sure she's secured in place, he turns back to the controls and turns off the guidance system to let him take over.

"What is it?" She asks from behind his left side.

"Incoming ships."

"What kind of ships?"

Before he can answer, the comm system on the panel blinks to life and a voice breaks through the sudden static. He holds his breath and stares down at the speaker. "You're a hard man to find, Mando."

Whoever it is, their voice is unfamiliar but that doesn't surprise him. What they said was true and Mando knows well just how many people are trying to find him. He ignores them for the time being and flips the switch over his head to prepare for the jump to hyperspace. They don't have enough fuel to get far, but it's enough to get away if this is going to be a fight.

On the right side of the Razor Crest, a ship glides beside them. It looks to be a U-wing, but no longer operated by the resistance. Anything classifying it as a resistance ship has been stripped away. Mando ignores it and continues to warm up the Razor Crest, preparing for a fight that he doesn't want.

"You've got something of ours that we want back, _Mando_. I know you can hear me."

His initial assumption is the kid since that's what he's used to by now. But it doesn't take him long to realize they mean Sera. "I can hear you," he says icily. "But there's nothing here that is yours."

"You think you can just take whatever you want? That slave belongs to us and we'll take it back. Dead or alive."

"I told you they would find me," Sera says behind him, her voice quiet and full of a sadness that he will never be able to understand.

"Give it up, Mando. You can't outrun us in that piece of junk."

Above his head, the motivator is ready to make the jump and Mando raises his hand to press the button. Before he does, he hesitates and glances at the ship to his right. The one speeding up behind them hasn't made contact and he figures they're more for backup. Whoever is in the ship to the right, the one communicating, must be in charge.

"Tell me," he starts, tilting his helmet to the side as he stares at the ship cruising beside them. "Who did I take her from?"

"Din, stop. It doesn't matter--"

The voice that comes over the comm laughs through the slight static. "Someone you don't want as an enemy."

"I have plenty of enemies that don't scare me. What's one more to the list?"

"That cocky attitude will be your downfall, Mandalorian scum. No matter," the man sniffs and over the comm, Mando can hear him flipping switches. "I'll be rewarded for bringing your head to Apax and Lorn. They pay well."

Mando's eyes narrow into a glare and he feels the heat of fury flicker at the sides of his face. _Vas Lorn_. He should have known someone like that would work with the Hutts, would stoop so low as to hurt and enslave Sera. The bounty hunter works quickly, pushing the Razor Crest to higher speeds. The two ships trailing him follow--just as he plans. Behind him, the other ship goes lower and he knows they'll be rammed from below.

"I can't let you die for me, Din. Either of you," Sera says quickly. "Just give them what they want and they'll let you go."

She's naive. She doesn't know how slavers operate and Mando doesn't fault her for it. He knows how these people work. He knows they'd rather kill than return to their masters empty-handed. Mando pulls back on the sticks, pointing the tip of the Razor crest up. The two ships beside and below angle themselves up as well.

"I'm not afraid of slavers," he says, his voice low and gravelly, full of fury.

"Din, you can't win this fight. You don't know what I've seen. You don't know what they can do to--"

He cut the fuel and the ship stalls, slowing until there's no acceleration left. As the two other ships zip past them, he pulls back on the lever and pushes the sticks down until they're in a dive. The kid shrieks and Sera grunts from the sudden shift, throwing her forward until the belt catches her around the waist.

Without warning and while the two ships are scrambling to turn around, Mando switches the fuel back on and activates the hyperdrive. The black of space and distant stars blur around them for only half a breath before the Razor Crest is propelled forward.

"Hold on--" he keeps his hand hovered over the switches above him. "--We're not out of the clear yet. They'll be right behind us."

Sera manages to suck in a breath but doesn't have a chance to speak. The ship detects a planetary system with enough mass to pull them to a stop and Mando quickly guides the ship toward it. Just as quickly as they made the jump, they're pulled from hyperspace, and everything within the ship that isn't tied down flies forward.

Down below, he hears the loose crates tumble, and something breaks. There's an alarm going off--nothing but a warning about the system that pulled them in and he takes control of the ship again.

They come out near a planet with several moons and he guides the Razor Crest towards one of them. It's on the small side, but it's shrouded in darkness.

He quickly flips off the fuel system and slows the ship, keeping one eye on the radar. The ships following them either haven't detected that they were no longer in hyperspace, or were too far away to be detected. He hoped for the former and coasted the ship toward the shadows of the moon.

"We can hide here for a while. There's a starport in this system where we can refuel and gather supplies when I can be sure we're safe." There's a bump as the landing gear makes contact with the surface and he switches the engines off. Beyond the windows of the ship, the moon is too dark to see, but it seems to be nothing but a rocky satellite with little to no life. A perfect hiding place.

He turns to check on the kid and finds those dark eyes of his blinking at him in the lights from the dash. He coos and slaps at the belt around his waist, but Mando doesn't unbuckle him just yet. Turning to the opposite side, he finds Sera still in her seat.

Her eyes are closed and for a brief moment, he fears she was hurt. There's a wrinkle between her eyebrows and her mouth is curled into a frown. He throws the straps from his waist and steps toward her. As he kneels beside her chair, she opens her eyes and takes a deep breath.

"Are you hurt?"

"No."

Despite her response, he looks her over and checks the belt around her waist, unbuckling it. Her hands cover his and push him away, making him stare up at her.

"I'm fine."

"Sera--"

She looks at him, her empty gaze narrowed. There's anger written on her face and he drops his hands to his side. "Why didn't you just hand me over to them?"

He blinks at her, stunned into silence. Is she angry with him for protecting her? With a shake of his head, he stands to his full height and she follows him. "I'm not letting you go back to Lorn."

She scoffs and folds her arms over her chest. "You can't keep me hidden forever, Mando." Though he wouldn't admit it, hearing her call him that stung. "He will find me and now you have a target on your back."

"I already have a target on my back."

"And now you have another one because of me." She puts a hand to her forehead, closes her eyes, and lets out a sigh. "I just...I want to be alone. Can you help me back down?"

There's no point in arguing with her anymore. A part of him wants to, though. It wants to take her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. How could she think that after everything he could just hand her back so easily? Did she not know him? The other part of Mando was mourning the loss of the moment they had shared.

He wanted to go back to then, to feel her close to him again and feel the warmth of her body near his. Perhaps it was for the best that they were interrupted. If he let things go too far, it could be bad.

He had already let things go too far with Sera months ago and now he's falling into the same mistakes--just like he wants to.

Once Sera is back down below and he returns back to the cockpit to sit in the chair once more, he sighs and lets his head fall back. The kid whines, arms outstretched and waiting to be picked up. Mando doesn't oblige him just yet. He needs a minute to himself, to think.

But it's no use. His thoughts are jumbled and too much to try to make sense of. So instead, he sits there and relives the memory of standing in front of her, feeling her hands explore his body as his do the same to her. It's the same memory he's held onto from the moment she stepped off of his ship and though she's closer than she has been for months, she still feels so far away.

* * *


	8. The Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sera is a bit of a brat and Mando can't quite resist her.

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The strange, endless swirls of blues, blacks, and white have grown a bit stale for Sera and she sits in the upper level of the Razor Crest, completely bored of watching the ship move through hyperspace. If this is meant to be the fastest way to travel from one system to another, she doesn't want to ever experience the slow way.

Seconds pass like hours and when she isn't trying to pass the time by sleeping as long as she can stand it on her borrowed cot down below, she tries to relieve the utter boredom by bothering the pilot. Which is what she's currently doing, sitting behind the Mandalorian as he busies himself with whatever he's doing on the control panel.

He, in very little words, had tried explaining to her how he knows where to go and though he doesn't exactly stop to demonstrate any of it, Sera catches on after watching him. She slides to the edge of her chair and looks over his elbow. The computer panel beeps with each touch of his gloved finger and she nods.

"So you program where you want to go in the nav system and the ship kind of drives itself?"

He turns his chair away from the side she's sitting on and goes through another process that she can't quite see. Without looking back at her, the Mandalorian responds. "It's not exactly that simple."

Sera detects a hint of annoyance in his voice, the same tone he gets when she's asking too many questions or bothering him. But what else does he expect her to do? It's not like she has a job onboard his ship, though she's tried to get him to let her do _something_. After scrubbing the floors down below, there isn't much aside from cleaning the toilet and...she's thankful for everything he's doing for her, but she isn't _that_ thankful.

A thought pops into her head while he's still facing the opposite side of the dash and Sera grins at the back of his head. Oh, he's about to be very annoyed.

"Can I fly it?"

Just as she suspects, the Mandalorian whirls back around in the chair until he's nearly facing her and stares. Surely, he's trying to figure out if she's serious or not, and when she widens her smile with eyes round and full of hope, he shakes his head.

"No."

"How come?" She really tries hard not to be a brat, but it's difficult when her curiosity is so piqued. How is she supposed to sit there, quiet as a mouse, and let him whisk her to some strange planet without trying to learn as much as she can before she gets there?

Her bottom lip pouts a bit but he doesn't notice. "It isn't a toy."

"I'm not asking to play with it," Sera replies with a small sigh. She stands from her chair and leans over his, looking down at the dash and the controls in front of him. "I won't touch anything except what you tell me to. Please?"

As his helmet tilts back to look up at her, Sera stares down into the reflection of her own face on the visor. He's silent again and she wonders what could possibly be going on inside his head. With the smile still curling her lips, she bites her lower lip. What does he look like behind that helmet? Is he human? Is he handsome?

"We don't have time." His voice cuts through her thoughts and she blinks as he turns away from her once more to concentrate on the tasks he performs on the control dash. Sera stands up straight and rolls her eyes at him.

“Don’t have time? We’ve been traveling for days and you said that it would take a while to get to Tatooine.” She stares at the back of his helmet, watching the lights of the panel above them reflect on the surface. Whatever hope she has that he will let her do something-- _anything_ \--fun fade with each passing second he remains silent. Sera sighs and crosses her arms over her chest. "I'm just trying to pass the time somehow."

He continues with whatever he's doing and she's trying not to pout. Just getting him to talk was like trying to pull teeth. She knows she has no room to be annoyed, but after spending the few years getting her way with a little wink, a smile, or showing enough of her cleavage to drunken men to get them to empty their pockets, it's strange being met with nothing but resistance.

Not to mention, it was almost impossible to be alluring while wearing a bulky, twice her size flight suit. She picks at a loose string on her left wrist and tries not to let the Mandalorian's silence get to her.

"What do you do to pass the time when you're alone?"

The question instantly fills her head with all sorts of things that he might do to pass his time alone in space. It makes her wonder if he ever brings someone else along, or if he just spends the time sitting there in his chair, looking out at the infinite space. The thought makes her frown and she shakes it from her head. Thinking of him all alone for weeks at a time makes her heart ache a bit for him.

Mando stands from the chair, pulling Sera from her thoughts and she blinks as he passes her by. "I don't really think about it."

He heads toward the opening on the floor and by the time he steps on the ladder, she's hurrying to catch up. Each of his steps punctuated by the tap of his boots on the rung and Sera can only stare down at him. “Well, surely you must know something we can do.”

"Sleep," is his answer and he turns away from the ladder, leaving her alone. This time, she didn't feel bad for her annoyance as she descends down into the lower deck. When she lands on the floor, she turns to face him.

"I'm not tired."

“Then feel free to find something to occupy your time.” She’s a few steps behind him as he faces the small area where he sleeps. He whirls around and stares down at her. “But don’t touch anything.”

Offering her nothing else, he turns his back to her and climbs into the bunk. There's nothing Sera can think to say quickly enough and before she can even open her mouth, the door slides shut with a thunk. Her shoulders fall in defeat and for several seconds, she stares at his bunk, waiting for him to come back out.

He doesn't and she closes her eyes to keep from rolling them. If she does it anymore, she's afraid they'll roll out of her head. What was she supposed to do with herself now? He had told her not to touch anything, but what did that really entail? Could she not use the refresher or did he mean things like the control panel up above them?

Slowly, her gaze shifted from the door of his bunk to the cabinet of weapons beside him. On one hand, she knows she shouldn’t touch anything, but on the other, it’s not like she’s going to take a blaster and shoot a hole in the ship. She’s just curious...and if her curiosity woke up the Mandalorian and he was forced to keep her company, then so be it.

Her finger is already on the button before she can make a decision and as she purses her lips, she presses the switch. The doors swing out with a quiet hiss and she stares up at the lights blinking on inside. She has no time to even smile to herself before another door slides up with a familiar hiss of the mechanics.

Leaning back to look around the cabinet door, she spots the Mandalorian in his bunk. One leg is bent with his arm resting over it and though she can't see a bit of his facial expression, she just knows he's scowling at her. The sigh he lets out is one she's heard from him a dozen times already and she takes a step back from the cabinet.

"I told you not to touch anything."

“I thought you meant up there,” Sera says, turning to point toward the ladder leading up to the upper floor. “Besides, how am I supposed to find something to occupy my time when I can’t touch anything? I’m just _looking_.”

Again, she takes another step back as he slides to the edge of his bunk and stands. He pushes one of the cabinet doors shut with his hand and before he can move to the other, Sera spins and puts herself between him and the weapon cabinet.

"They're not toys," he repeats the same thing he had told her up in the cockpit and she playfully rolls her eyes, though a smile is curling her lips.

“You said the same thing about the ship and again, I know. I’m not asking to play with one.”

“Then why--” He's cut off before he can finish.

“Look, if I’m going to be on a new planet with people I’m not sure I can trust, don’t you think I should be able to defend myself?”

“That’s not really--”

“And since I don’t know a single other person in the galaxy that _does_ know how to use one of these things aside from you…” Sera trails off, her eyebrows lifting as she does and she hopes he can connect the dots. It doesn't take him long before he does and when he shakes his head, Sera slides closer to the inside of the cabinet to prevent him from shutting the door.

“I’m not asking for you to make me an expert but I’ve never even held one before. Surely you can show me how?”

Another sigh, one she was certainly not surprised to hear, and he looks away from her. Was his resolve crumbling? Hope sparks inside her chest and her smile stretches wider. Oh, she hopes that this will lead to something curing her boredom. Mando shifts from one foot to the other and for just a split second, she feels her hopes faltering.

Of course, they come bounding back as soon as he takes a step back and jerks his head to the side, telling her to step away. She does so with a bounce in her step and as she spins on her heel to face him, she watches him reach into the cabinet. He grabs one of the blasters on the bottom of the door panel.

The blaster spins in his palm until the butt of it is pointed to her and Sera stares at it with a sparkle of curiosity in her eyes. Her hand closes around it and she blinks up at his helmet. "I didn't think you'd actually let me hold one."

She lifts it from his hand and lets it settle into her palm. It has some weight to it, but nothing she couldn't handle. Mando speaks as she points it out in front of her.

"It’s broken so it doesn’t shoot--whoa!”

In a flash, he snatches her wrist and pushes it down away from the both of them. The sudden move startles Sera so badly, the blaster slips from her hand and before it can clatter to the floor, the Mandalorian snatches it out of the air. Still gripping her wrist, his helmet faces her.

"You can't point it at someone."

“You said it was broken and doesn’t shoot!”

“That doesn’t mean I want it pointed at me. Even if it’s broken, you never aim at something unless you want to kill it.” With that, he drops her wrist and she rubs it, though he hadn't hurt her too badly. Only frightened her. Sera scowls up at him and puts her hands on her hips.

“Well, maybe that should have been the first lesson before handing me a weapon.”

Mando stares at her through his visor and while she can’t see it, she can feel the look he’s giving her and it makes her want to roll her eyes--or apologize. She’s not sure which but instead of saying anything, she holds her hand out for the gun again.

It's placed in her outstretched palm once more and her fingers curl around the weight of it. This time, she's extra careful to keep the end of the barrel pointed at the floor. Her eyebrow arches as she looks up at him. “Better?”

“Somewhat. Take your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot.” She does as he says and watches as he steps closer to her, shifting into place behind her right shoulder. His arm lifts and he points down the length of the cargo area to where several crates are set up to the side. "See that crate with the dent on the side?"

Sera follows to where he's pointing and sees it. The third crate down in the stack has a rather large dent banged into the corner and she nods.

"See if you can line it up in your sights."

His command goes in one ear and out the other and she looks over her shoulder at him with an eyebrow raised. It doesn't take him long to realize she has no idea what he's talking about and he steps even closer. He taps his finger on the tip of the barrel to where a small piece of metal is sticking up.

"This is your sight. Line it up with what you want to shoot and you should hit the target.”

"Except, this is a broken blaster."

“Just see if you can see the mark on the crate.” His tone suggests that he's losing his patience and she knows that if she keeps pushing his buttons, he's going to give up on her and disappear back into his bunk.

It shouldn't be this much fun to annoy him and she looks back down the length of the blaster barrel, pursing her lips to hide her smile. One of her eyes closes as she peers down the sight to the dented crate.

"Keep both of your eyes open."

"Okay," she says, not lifting her head but opening both of her eyes as he instructed. It only makes the crate shift out of her sight. "How am I supposed to line it up like this?"

"Bring it closer to your eyes."

Again, she does as he says and brings the blaster right up to her face. The sound of his sigh nearly forces a giggle out of her mouth but she quickly swallows it back. The Mandalorian shifts on his feet and he brings one of his hands up to her wrist, positioning it away from her face but not as far as she had it earlier. His hand slides along her arm and Sera can't help letting her eyes fall to where he now grips her elbow. When he pushes her arm closer to her body and lets his hand fall away from her, she realizes she's holding her breath and lets it out.

"Now try."

Swallowing down the sudden warmth that's didn't seem to want to go away, Sera focuses on the sight on the barrel and keeping both of her eyes open, she can see the dent in the crate. It's a bit hard to concentrate with him so close, and she can feel the chills race down the flesh on the back of her arms.

Her finger taps the trigger and she mimics the sound of a blaster before raising her head. The weapon lowers at her side and she turns to face the Mandalorian. “I think I would have hit it, don’t you?”

"Probably not." His response makes her scowl and as she turns to face him, he gestures to the blaster in her hand. "The sight on it is warped."

"Oh." Sera glances from the blaster to the cabinet full of weapons. She wants to try more but knows he would never let her. Before she can look away, her eyes settle on his rifle leaning against the wall and her eyebrow slowly raises into an arch. "Can I try that one?"

He instantly knows which one she's referring to. "No."

She spins back around to face him. "Please? I won’t put my finger on the trigger or aim it at anything except what you tell me. I just want to hold it and see what a proper sight feels like.”

Behind his helmet, she imagines he's rolling his eyes as much as she rolls hers and it makes her smile to think of it. Is he looking at her like a bratty child or like a woman he has trouble saying no to? For some reason, she really hopes it's the latter and as he passes by her, she turns to follow him.

When he grabs the rifle from the wall, she clasps her hands together in front of her and purses her lips to hide her grin. He faces her and stares at her through his visor and she can just _feel_ the look he's giving her. It doesn't help the warmth that's slowly spreading to her face.

"Keep your hands away from the trigger."

She nods enthusiastically and holds her hands out as he steps back up to her. When he passes her the rifle, she's not prepared for the weight of it and the barrel nearly falls to the floor. Sera manages to catch it before it hits the ground and she smiles sheepishly up at him as she rights it.

“It’s a lot heavier than I was expecting," she breathes. "You make it seem so easy.” A nervous laugh bounces from her throat and she peers up at him through a fallen strand of her hair. She blows it away as Mando steps closer and touches the back of the gun near her chest.

"This goes against your shoulder."

Though it's a struggle, she manages to position it against her shoulder and is careful not to let her fingers come anywhere close to the trigger. She stares down the length of the barrel and sees a device sitting on top. When she opens her mouth to ask if it's the scope, Mando interrupts.

“This is your scope,” he tells her. “You can see the cross-hair if you look through it.”

She bends her head to the side and peers through the scope, seeing the marks on the floor magnified through the lens. It's almost pathetic how weak she is and embarrassment flushes her cheeks as she struggles to lift the rifle. Once she has it pointing at the crates, it's nearly impossible to look down the sights while keeping it close to her shoulder and she sighs heavily, blowing a strand of hair away from her face.

"I can't see anything." She doesn't try to hide the defeat in her voice and she lowers the rifle back to where it's pointing down at the floor.

“Because you’re not holding it straight.”

“That’s easier said than done. It feels so off-balance.”

Just as the words leave her mouth, Sera's taken by complete surprise as the Mandalorian steps up behind her. One arm reaches around her shoulder to take hold of the rifle, lifting it and keeping it nestled into her shoulder while his other hand settles on her back, right between her shoulder blades. He positions her and she blinks, trying to concentrate.

It's difficult to think about anything apart from the heat of his body. A blush creeps up her cheeks and she purses her lips. She couldn't remember the last time a man actually made her blush and here this Mandalorian was doing it without even trying.

Though she tells herself not to, her body doesn't listen and her head slowly turns away from looking down the scope. She stares up at her distorted reflection on the curve of his helmet and she wishes she could see him. Her eyes narrow as she tries to conjure a mental picture of what he could possibly look like.

The helmet turns and she knows she should look away before he catches her staring but she doesn't. When he peers down at her through that impossibly dark visor, warmth flushes across her face and she quickly looks away. Her face is hot and she wonders if his is as well beneath that helmet.

Keeping both eyes open, she stares down the scope with his help and finds the dent in the side of the crate like before. It's so hard to concentrate with his hand on her back but she once again mimics the sound of the blaster and straightens back up. His hand falls away and she ducks her head to hide the pink of her cheeks.

Does he notice it lingering on her face?

Sera quickly fills the silence between them. “I don’t think I’d be very good at using this one but it’d be fun to actually be able to practice shooting.”

Mando takes the rifle from her hand and she can see his chest rise with a deep breath. Surely, he's about to tell her that they don't have time for an actual shooting lesson and she feels her shoulders fall. He never gets a chance to ruin her hopes.

The world is thrown into darkness and Sera's breath hitches in her throat. Has she gone blind? No--the lights went out. She has no time to think about it for too long. With a horrible sound of malfunctioning machinery, the ship lurches forward and Sera is pitched backward, falling toward the cargo floor. The force of it knocks her breath out and she struggles to breathe as something heavy and hard falls on top of her.

As the ship recovers from the sudden, violent turbulence, the lights blink back on and the engines sputter before whirring back to life. Whatever it was that fell on her isn't as heavy as she originally thought. She blinks her eyes open and through a mess of her hair, she can see a familiar reflection peering down at her.

Mando's visor is only a few inches above her face and she can hear his breath despite the alarm ringing above them in the cockpit. His elbows are on the floor on either side of her head and to keep from crushing her, he's leaning his body to one side. It doesn't stop their legs from tangling together and Sera lets out a shaking breath.

"Mando," she whispers, realizing her hands are grasping the material just below the plate of armor on his chest. It's thick, but not enough that she can't feel the shape of his waist and the strength of his muscles behind it. Her eyes widen as she focuses on her own reflection. "What happened?"

In an instant, the weight of his body lifts off of her and she stares up through a wispy strand of her hair to the ceiling. Her face is burning hotter now and she sits up on her elbows in time to see him disappear up the ladder. Despite the ache in her back from being slammed to the floor, Sera stands to her feet and races to the ladder.

"Mando!"

He still doesn't answer her and she growls beneath her breath before hurrying up to the cockpit behind him. The ship rocks to the side and she stumbles onto the top floor. As she rights herself, she sees him sitting at his chair and the blue swirl of hyperspace is gone. Panic bubbles in her chest and she stares out at the endless black of space broken only by the occasional distant star system.

"What happened?" She repeats, louder this time. Thankfully, he answers her.

"Something's wrong with the hyperdrive."

"What do you mean? Are we going to be alright?" This was one of the few times when his silence didn't just annoy her--it scared her.

“The ship isn’t going to explode if that’s what you mean.”

Sera scowls at the back of his helmet and holds onto the seat while the ship shakes and vibrates. “That’s not as reassuring as you think it is.”  
  


“Hold on,” Mando growls through clenched teeth as he takes control of the ship. Another rumble trembles through the engines and Sera drops into her own chair. Her fingers scramble for the belt but before she can even latch it around her waist, a horrible grating sound grows so suddenly it’s almost deafening and she slaps her hands over her ears. 

The nose of the ship dips downward and for just a split second, she can see the Mandalorian pulling back on the controls as hard as he can. It doesn’t stop her from tipping out of her seat and slamming against the dash in front of her. All of the air is knocked from her lungs in an instant and pain sears through her midsection.

Beneath her, she can feel how badly the ship is shaking and her hands reach out to push herself up but can’t get her bearings. Just as she feels herself slipping further toward the glass beyond the dash, something grips the back of her flight suit and pulls her backward. 

The air returns to her lungs as she falls to the floor near the Mandalorian’s chair and she sucks in a deep breath once she’s able to. Thankfully, he's able to take control of the ship, and the shaking and trembling start leveling out. She's relieved when the alarms shut off and Sera lets her head fall back against the dash once the silence settles. She looks up at Mando and scoffs, rubbing a hand across her chest where it had smacked against the control panel.

“You okay?” He asks, his voice soft and distorted by the helmet. It shouldn’t make her stomach flutter the way it is, but she can’t help it.

Sera nods and lifts a hand to comb the hair away from her face. “At least we didn’t explode.”

And to her surprise, he laughs. It’s a short sound, barely a scoff but she likes it. Before she can stop herself, she finds herself laughing as well, and just for a moment, they stay where they are and just take a moment to breathe. He might not have been scared, but Sera’s heart is still beating like crazy. No to mention, the fluttering in her stomach isn’t settling either.

Knowing there’s nothing good that can come out of feeling like this toward a man who can’t even show her his face, she stands to her feet and rotates her shoulder. She’s definitely going to be sore tomorrow. 

“Well, I think that’s enough excitement for me. For today at least,” she says, glancing at him from over her shoulder. It delights her to see him turn in the chair and watch her head toward the opening on the floor. While she needs to use the refresher after all of that excitement, what she needs more is a bit of space...just until her stomach settles and the blush fades from her cheeks.

While he continues to stare after her, Sera can’t resist the temptation and gives the Mandalorian a quick wink that she isn’t sure he even sees. She lowers herself down the ladder and once she’s back in the lower level of the ship, she sighs and drops her forehead onto one of the rungs of the ladder. 

“Don’t be stupid, Sera,” she whispers to herself, hating that her head was already filling full of possible fantasies of this Mandalorian. But what good would come from it? They’re just too different. 

A bounty hunter and a backwater whore? It was a ridiculous thought; one that she does all she can to push to the back of her head, knowing that it would only sting that much more when they get to Tatooine and she steps off his ship for good. But still, Sera can’t quite get rid of the flutter inside her stomach at the thought of him. 

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter will have more explanations but I hope you enjoyed it so far!


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